Love is in the air

As the whales took a break from feeding on a school of krill they came to the surface and let off some steam, blowing misty seawater out of their blowholes.

The beautiful shots were taken by wildlife photographer Ken Archer in the Gulf of Alaska, on a recent boat trip to Resurrection Bay near Kenai Fjords National Park. 

Discussing how he caught the heartwarming moment on camera, photographer Archer, 53, from Washington said: 'We encountered several whales just inside a secluded bay, which were milling about feeding and playing.'

He continued: 'One youngster happily splashed its tail for 20 minutes just a few metres away, and an adult showed us a sweet breach in the distance.

'Then our skipper noticed some unique behaviour a little further way, and manoeuvred our boat so we could get a better view.

'Three whales were bubble net feeding - where a group of whales dive deep down in the seawater, placing themselves below large schools of small fish such as krill.

'As the whales return to the surface toward their prey they blow bubbles, creating a circular net that congregates the small fish.

'As the whales break through the surface of the seawater their mouths are agape, gathering up as many of the small creatures as possible.

'Between the feeding dives the whales would swim along the edges of the cliff faces, blowing out shapely spouts of misty seawater as they breathed. 

'I wanted to capture the spout just as it was happening - I was lucky and able to capture the unique formations as the whales exhaled.

'I saw the heart formation as it briefly appeared - the action happened so quickly I wasn't sure if I had caught it or not.

'I was more than jubilant when I saw my photos later,' he added.

(dailymail.co.uk)