Nearly 300 Humpback Whales Gather in Rare Supergroup
Thursday, 2026/07/30157 words2 minutes1447 reads
Wildlife photographer Chris Fallows and naturalist Monique Fallows witnessed an extraordinary sight off South Africa's west coast last December. They documented 299 individual humpback whales gathered together, forming what appears to be the largest humpback group ever recorded.
Humpback whales typically travel alone or in small groups, but occasionally form large feeding groups in areas rich with krill or small fish. Each whale can be identified by the unique pattern on its tail, called a fluke. Using whale-photo database Happywhale, the team was able to confirm the number of individuals.
This remarkable gathering represents a conservation success story. Southern Hemisphere humpback populations have recovered dramatically from fewer than 10,000 during commercial whaling to more than 100,000 today. The international moratorium on commercial whaling began in 1986, and scientist Els Vermeulen notes that large feeding groups started appearing again around 2012.
While this is encouraging, threats like fishing gear, ship strikes, and climate change still affect whale populations.
