Early morning light shimmered across the surface of Falmouth Bay on September 19, 2025, as wildlife photographer Dylan Coundley-Hughes scanned the water from the deck of a small boat. What began as a routine outing to film marine life off the coast of Cornwall quickly became a career-defining moment, one that would capture the attention of both scientists and the public alike. According to BBC Cornwall, Coundley-Hughes had received a tip-off from local fishermen about a large whale sighting. Armed with his camera and a drone, he set out with hope but little expectation. Then, as feeding frenzies of dolphins, tuna, and seabirds erupted around him, he spotted the unmistakable blow of a massive whale.
"We headed out early Friday morning and started scanning the water," Coundley-Hughes recalled. "There were feeding frenzies going on, dolphins, tuna, birds, and then we saw the blow of the whale. It was massive." The whale in question was a fin whale, the second-largest animal on Earth, trailing only the blue whale in size. Known as the "greyhound of the sea" for their speed and agility, fin whales are a rare sight in British waters, making this encounter all the more extraordinary.
Using his drone, Coundley-Hughes managed to film the fin whale gliding through the water, dwarfed only by its own immense shadow and accompanied by a pod of common dolphins. "The dolphins really put into perspective just how huge the whale was. It was incredible to witness," he said. "It's the biggest whale I've ever seen. I do a lot of marine wildlife filming, and this is definitely one of the top moments." For Coundley-Hughes, the experience was not only a personal highlight, but also a reminder of the rich marine life that exists just off the coast of the UK. "A lot of people don't realise just how much marine life we have right here off our coasts," he told the BBC.
While the sighting in Cornwall was remarkable in its own right, it was not the only dramatic whale encounter to make headlines in recent weeks. Thousands of miles away, on August 23, 2025, kayakers in Costa Rica found themselves in the midst of a breathtaking spectacle when a humpback whale and its calf breached the water right beside them at Playa Escondido. The group, part of the Mamawata Surf Retreat, had set out that day with hopes—though not expectations—of spotting whales. Their patience was rewarded with a display that left them in awe.
Their video, which quickly went viral and has since been viewed over one million times, opens with the two whales breaching just meters from the kayaks before disappearing beneath the waves. Moments later, the larger humpback launched itself out of the water, crashing down and sending waves rolling toward the stunned kayakers. "We were secretly hoping to maybe spot some whales since my boyfriend and I had been seeing them from our house the past few days," a member of the Mamawata Surf Retreat posted on Instagram. "But honestly, we had no expectations. What we didn't know was that this mama and her baby were about to put on this kind of show for us! At first, they were just swimming and coming up for air around us, and then this happened!"
As the whales continued breaching and swimming nearby, the kayakers could be seen laughing and pointing in delight, clearly aware that they were witnessing something out of the ordinary. Social media users were quick to share their own amazement. "Beautiful and very fortunate! I only got to experience one time, the best experience of my life on the water," wrote one commenter. Another added, "Kayaking amongst those beautiful creatures is such an incredible experience." A third simply marveled, "Unbelievable! That must have been an unforgettable experience!"
While humpback whales are a common sight in Costa Rica’s Pacific waters, it is rare to capture such close-up footage of them breaching, especially with a calf in tow. According to the International Whaling Commission, Costa Rica’s coastal Pacific waters play host to two distinct populations of humpback whales each year, migrating from both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. During the Northern Hemisphere’s winter, from December to March, humpbacks that feed along the Northwest coast of the United States travel south to Costa Rica’s warm tropical waters to mate, give birth, and nurse their young. Conversely, from July to mid-November, humpbacks that feed in the Antarctic Peninsula and southern Chile undertake the species’ longest recorded migration to breed in the same Costa Rican waters.
These twin migrations mean that Costa Rica is one of the few places in the world where humpbacks from both hemispheres can be seen in the same year, making it a hotspot for whale watching and marine research. Yet, as the Mamawata Surf Retreat group learned firsthand, even in such a renowned location, encounters of this proximity and drama remain rare and exhilarating.
Back in the UK, the sighting of a fin whale off Cornwall has sparked renewed interest in British marine biodiversity. The fin whale, which can reach lengths of up to 85 feet and weigh as much as 80 tons, was once heavily hunted and is now considered vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. While they are occasionally spotted in deeper waters off the British Isles, close encounters like the one filmed by Coundley-Hughes are few and far between. The footage, showing the immense animal moving gracefully alongside dolphins, serves as a vivid reminder of the ocean’s wonders—and its fragility.
Both the Cornish and Costa Rican encounters highlight the power of chance and timing in wildlife observation. In each case, those present were rewarded not just with a fleeting glimpse, but with moments of connection and awe that linger long after the whales themselves have vanished beneath the waves. They also underscore the growing role of amateur and professional wildlife observers in documenting marine life and sharing those experiences with a global audience through social media and news outlets.
As the video from Costa Rica continues to rack up views and the drone footage from Cornwall circulates among marine enthusiasts, one thing is clear: the world’s oceans still hold the capacity to surprise, inspire, and unite us in wonder. Whether off the wild shores of Cornwall or the tropical beaches of Costa Rica, these encounters remind us that the giants of the sea are never as far away as we might think—if only we keep our eyes open and our cameras ready.
For those lucky enough to witness these moments firsthand, the memory is likely to last a lifetime. And for the rest of us, the images and stories serve as a stirring invitation to look closer, venture further, and cherish the extraordinary wildlife that shares our planet.
