STUNNING FOOTAGE has been shared online of a humpback whale leaping from the sea off the coast of Cork.
The moment was captured on camera by Michelle Kincaid during an excursion at the weekend.
The whale was spotted somewhere off the coast near Clonakilty.
In the video, which was filmed on Kincaid’s phone, the humpback whale cane be seen fully breaching the water, emerging from the sea on several occasion while in plain sight.
Capable of growing up to 15 metres in length and weighing somewhere in the region of 25 to 30 metric tonnes, the average humpback whale is bigger and heavier than a double decker bus.
All of which makes the sight of one leaping from the water in such graceful fashion before crashing through the waves beneath that but more spectacular to watch first-hand.
Audible screams can be heard among those looking on.
Incredibly, the shocked responses do little to put off the whale, who continues to move around gracefully with a captive audience watching on.
Well this just happened!
A humpback breaching fully out of the water in #Clonakilty Bay on this evenings trip from #Courtmacsherry.
Thank you Michelle Kincaid for capturing this incredible footage. pic.twitter.com/Z2GANmBeBj— Whales and Wildlife (@atlanticwhales) July 11, 2020
The video was subsequently shared with the Twitter account Whales and Wildlife, where it racked up thousands of views in only a few hours.
At the time of writing, the clip has been viewed more than 110,000 times online.
"Well, this just happened," the caption accompanying the video reads.
"A humpback breaching fully out of the water in Clonakilty Bay on this evening’s trip from Courtmacsherry."
An incredible piece of footage, our thanks go to Michelle and the tour operator that allowed her to capture this incredible example of nature in action.
