PUNTARENAS, Costa Rica– A group of kayakers in Costa Rica got to see an amazing show of a humpback whale and its calf breaching the water in late August.
The Mamawata Surf Retreat group were kayaking at Playa Escondido hoping to see some whales while in the water on Aug. 23, when the humpbacks started breaching right next to them.
“We were secretly hoping to spot some whales since my boyfriend and I had been seeing them from our house the past few days,” a person with Mamawata Surf Retreat said in a post to their Instagram.
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Whale breaches water in Costa Rica in front of group of kayakers on Aug. 23, 2025.
(Mamawata Surf Retreat via Storyful / FOX Weather)
They captured a video of the spectacle, as one of the whales splashed back down into the water close to their kayaks.
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The whale splashes back down into the water, sending waves toward the kayakers.
(Mamawata Surf Retreat via Storyful / FOX Weather)
Humpback whales are common to see in Costa Rica’s waters, as the species migrates from the Northern Hemisphere in the first half of the year during winter.
According to the International Whaling Commission, from July to mid-November, humpback whales that feed in the Antarctic Peninsula and southern Chile make the species’ longest recorded migration to breed in Costa Rica’s warm waters.
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The whale swims away, breaching the water again.
(Mamawata Surf Retreat via Storyful / FOX Weather)
As the kayakers continued watching, the whales swam further away, breaching the water a few more times.
Each time the whales breached the water and crashed down again, waves were sent the kayakers’ way.
The whale and its baby calf splash back into the water in the distance.
(Mamawata Surf Retreat via Storyful / FOX Weather)
At one point, as one of the whales leaped out of the water, the other made a big splash next to it, causing the camera to shift to the more recent splash.
The video ended with the whales diving back into the water and swimming away.
