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South African photographer Chris Fallows, who has famously captured Great White Sharks leaping from the waters around Cape Town, has opened up about witnessing a humpback whale “supergroup” at the end of last year.
Fallows, along with his wife Monique, witnessed almost 300 individuals in a single morning, an event indicative of how whale populations that were dwindling have recovered impressively after an international whale hunting ban in 1986.
“Over December 2025, we really noticed whale numbers were steadily increasing,” Fallows tells Associated Press. “Initially, we saw groups of 20, maybe even 50. But towards the middle of the month, those groups grew into 100, and we knew something really special was in the offing.”
“On one particular day, on December 30, about 100 kilometers [60 miles] north of Cape Town, we were greeted by what I can only describe as a Manhattan skyline with huge plumes of whale breath greeting us like skyscrapers,” Fallows continues.
“And very quickly, we realized we were looking at a sight we’d never seen before in our lives, and that was hundreds of whales coming together to feed in one small area. And it was truly breathtaking, not only as a naturalist, but as a fine art photographer — you dream of moments like this.”
In total, Chris and Monique counted 299 individual humpback whales by photographing their tails, known as a fluke, which have individual features and allow researchers to make a clear count.
Humpback whales are solitary animals that rarely gather in large numbers. But groups will gather in food-rich areas. These so-called supergroups began appearing off South Africa’s coast in 2011 after humpback numbers recovered from just 10,000 in the southern hemisphere at the peak of whaling to over 100,000 whales today.
Fallows is best known for his black and white photos of great white sharks. His photo Air Jaws, a film photograph showing a great white shark breaching with its jaws open and teeth visible, helped establish his reputation.
“And it was in the days of film. [I couldn’t] look on the back of the camera and see if I’d nailed it,” Fallows told 60 Minutes back in April. “I waited the whole weekend, not knowing whether I’d kind of over-imagined this incredible image, whether it was going to be sharp… [on Monday] I walked into the lab, everybody was clapping.”
“It was a photograph that changed my life, and it gave me a fantastic start with my photography. And it… epitomizes the power and, I guess, predatory prowess of this incredible animal.”
English (US) ·