Drone Videos of Whales

Prepare to be blown away by this drone video of narwhal whales near the North Pole, compliments of top AirVuz contributor Timelab.pro.  The video filmed in the course of a scientific trip to study these narwahls in the Franz Josef Land Archipelago, a group of Russian islands which straddle the 81st north parallel, almost two-thirds of the way between the Arctic Circle and the earth's northernmost point.  Sometimes called "sea unicorns" due to their long tusks (usually only seen on males) narwahls grow up to about 18 ft. (5.5 m).    

Top AirVuz contributor jayxlamar took home the Drone Video of the Week honors in late October of 2022 with this stunning drone video of three blue whales off the coast of Southern California.  These graceful creatures aer literally the largest animals to have ever lived on Earth -- they can reach lengths of up to just under 100 ft. (about 30 m) and can weigh up to 400k pounds (about 180k kg).  Sightings such as what you'll see in the video usually occur during migration periods. when the whales are moving to or from Polar waters.     

Multiple Drone Video of the Week Winner FrameworkFilms brings us this stunning aerial footage of some blue whales off the coast of Southern California.  The graceful creatures can reach lengths of up to just under 100 ft. (about 30 m) and can weigh up to 400k pounds (about 180k kg), making them the largest animals to have ever lived on Earth.  They generally spend their summer months near the poles and their winter months in the tropics; sightings such as what you'll see in the video usually occur during migration periods.    

Multiple Drone Video of the Week Winner Makhorov brings us this spectacular drone video of a group of orca whales in the Russian Far East.  The video was filmed off the coast of Kamchatka, a giant peninsula which separates the Sea of Ohotsk from the Bering Sea.  Also known as killer whales, these graceful beasts are actually part of the dolphin family.  Despite their name, orcas pose no known threat to people; there has never been a recorded incident of an attack on humans by orcas in the wild.  

CM Photography spent two weeks in Tonga, an island archipelago situated towards the eastern end of the South Pacific Islands. Tonga is part of the South Pacific subregion known as Polynesia, home to most of the South Pacific's most well-known islands.  His spectacular drone film documents humpback whales in the warm waters of Tonga during their migration from Antarctica. The aerial footage of these majestic creatures was taken off the northern tip of Tonga's Foa Island, part of the country's Ha'apai group of islands.  

Hermanus, a small town near the city of Cape Town at the southern tip of South Africa, is best known for its whale watching.  During the certain months, thousands of southern right whales migrate through its waters, easily spottable from shore.  Top contributor Luke Maximo Bell used a DJI Phantom drone to film these magnificent creatures swimming off the shore of the town which was once an important center for the whaling industry and is currently considered one of the world's best whale-watching spots.

South Africa's Table Bay is so named because it sits in the shadow of Table Mountain, above the great city of Cape Town near the southern tip of the country.  Due to its location very close to the border between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, the Table Bay has always sported a wide diversity of marine life.  AirVuz contributor and pilot Exclusive Aerials flew a DJI Phantom 4 drone over the bay and created this impressive drone film of whales and dolphins passing through these waters during seasonal migration.  

AirVuz contributor and pilot jayxlamar is known around the world for his drone footage of whales; the talented content creator has had his whale footage picked up by National Geographic.  In this beautiful drone video, he gives us an aerial view of some gray whales off the coast of Newport Beach, California.  Gray whales can grow to a length of about 15 meters (around 50 ft.) and can weigh over 35k kg (around 40 tons).  The species (more or less) disappeared from the Atlantic Ocean centuries ago, most likely from whaling.  

Blue whales can be up to 30 meters long (around 100 ft) and can weigh over 180k kg (around 200 tons), making them the largest animals on the planet. They can live over 100 years, over the course of which their migratory patterns bring them towards the poles into cooler waters in the summer to feed, and back towards the equator and warmth to breed in the winter. That migration brought a mother and calf past thedronebooth’s DJI Phantom 4 Pro drone, with which he captured the beautiful creatures in this amazing video.

It is reasonably well known that the Indian Ocean island nation of Sri Lanka is among the most biodiverse countries on earth.  What is perhaps less well known is that this label extends to the Indian Ocean waters off the coast of this small country, located just to the south of India.  In this video, contributor and pilot Summittosea gives us a look at this Sri Lankan offshore biodiversity in the form of blue whales - the largest creature on earth.  The drone footage of this graceful animal is stunning.

Parts of the northern Brazilian coast are legendary whale watching spots.  This is particularly true in the coast of the Northeast Region, where seasonal migration patterns can result in large populations of humpbacks and other species swimming and feeding in these warm Atlantic Ocean waters.  Contributor Iimoveisbrasilbahia was able to capture a group of these beautiful creatures off the Praia do Forte in the Bahia state, giving us this marvelous bird's eye view of these amazing sea mammals.   

Check out this magnificent drone video from Canada's far north, compliments of award-winning contributor and drone pilot Florian Ledoux.  He was able to aerially film a giant group of Beluga whales as they ply the waters of the river estuaries in Nunavut Province.  Canada's newest province (it was carved out of the Northwest Territories in 1999), Nunavut is a vast land which extends many hundreds of km/mi into the Arctic Circle.  It is home to numerous species which are potentially endangered from global warming. 

In this very popular drone video by contributor Jaimen Hudson, he filmed a stand up paddleboarder cruising the waters off of Esperance, in Western Australia.  While it's not possible to know with certainty if the paddleboarder was aware of it, two giant whales are swimming just a few meters/feet underneath him.  The unforgettable bird's eye view of this scene is testament to the power of drones to look at our world from entirely new perspectives which would be otherwise impossible to see.

Top AirVuz contributor and drone pilot Jayxlamar, who has done extensive filming of whales by drones, recently had some of his video footage picked up by National Geographic.  He was able to capture drone footage of gray whales missing perhaps their most-noticed feature - their tails.  While it's not clear exactly how this came about, it's thought that the giant creatures are getting caught in fishing equipment.  It's not known whether the disfigurement impacts the ability of the whales to survive.  

Among the many attractions of South America's Patagonia region are some of the world's best spots for whale watching.  Seasonal migration patterns result in many species of whales moving in large numbers past the coasts of southern Chile and Argentina near the southern tip of the continent.  In this video, contributor and pilot Jonathanwyn used a DJI Mavic Pro drone to film Southern Right Whales off the coast of Argentina during the winter months when they move away from the waters of Antarctica.

Contributor cward360 created this awesome video of some orca's (aka killer whales) feeding in the waters of Puget Sound in Washington State, part of the USA's Pacific Northwest.  They were filmed in Henderson Bay, an inlet of the sound near Gig Harbor. If you look at a map of the area it's a wonder that these creatures can navigate the convoluted waterways in the area; just making it to the Tacoma Narrows Bridge near the southern end of the sound looks complicated enough and the waterways narrow even further from there!

The area around the city of the Gold Coast in eastern Australia is known for being amongst the world's top surfing spots as well as a great place for whale watching.  Tweed Head is a small beach town in New South Wales, just south of Gold Coast (which is part of the Queensland state).  In this video, contributor and pilot Corellovel managed to capture the surfing scene at Tweeds Head with some epic shots of some humpback whales.  You'll see the surfers and the sea mammals sharing the stunning torquoise waters.

AirVuz contributor and pilot Alaska42 was using a drone to film the Alaska State Ferry when he was "interrupted" by some mammalian visitors - a small group of humpback whales.  The Alaskan coast is the seasonal home for about 10,000 of these graceful creatures every year, who breed in Hawaii during the winter months and return here in the spring.  Humpback whales can be as long as 18-20 meters (about 60 ft.) and can weigh as much as 40 tons.  These waters also host other whale species, including orca's.  

The humpback whale is one of the largest animals on the planet. Living around fifty-years, the adult male can reach up to around 66,000 pounds. They are incredible creatures that are putting on quite the show for drone pilot UASFlightOps in this aerial video. The pilot headed out to film the whales while in Tonga, a Polynesian kingdom that is made up of more than 170 islands in the South Pacific. He gets the opportunity of a lifetime, not just capturing aerial footage but swimming with the whales. What a memorable experience and video!

Among the many attractions of the Portuguese island of Madeira is its whale-watching.  Situated in the North Atlantic Ocean, Madeira is home to both year-round as well as migratory populations of many whale (as well as dolphin) species.  In this amazing drone video by AirVuz contributor Jackson Groves, you'll get an aerial view of a family of seven sperm whales plying the waters near Calheta, a town on the southwestern corner of the island.  Sperm whales are the largest toothed whales and are considered the largest toothed predator.  

In this AirVuz News story, Kendall Mark catches up with a drone pilot who has a great aerial video and a whale of a story to go with it.  Todd Chandler used a drone to capture some stunning footage of a blue whale enjoying a very hefty meal of plankton in the waters off the coast of Australia.  Researchers say that this footage is helpful in advancing understanding of the feeding patterns of these gigantic sea mammals.  Drones make this sort of footage possible for the first time.

Top AirVuz contributor B.FILMS - BANOR Jerome returns after three years with this fantastic drone video of humpback whales frollicking in the waters of the Indian Ocean near Réunion Island.  Humpback whales can reach up to 56 ft. (about 17 m) in length and can weigh up to 88k pounds (about 40k kg).  The whales have been known to travel up to 10k mi. (about 16k km) during their seasonal migrations, which take them from polar waters for feeding to subtropical or tropical zones for mating and giving birth.  

Among the most unusual looking whale species are Narwals.  Found in the world's far northern reaches, they are very much distinguished by a large "tusk" which is a residual tooth.  Award-winning contributor and drone pilot Florian Ledoux was part of a team searching for these elusive creatures in Nunavut, in the far Arctic reaches of Northern Canada.  After a few days, they located some of these elusive creatures and were able to film them with a drone, resulting in this astounding video.

AirVuz contributor Peter Barthelson was working on a research vessel in Greenland when he spotted a pair of whales moving about in the icebergs off the giant island's eastern coast.  He was able to get his FPV drone up in time to film the beautiful creatures, who seemed unaware of the presence of the drone.  The whales, which he believes were mother and calf humpbacks, stayed in place long enough for him to create this stunning video.   At least 15 different whale species can be found off the coast of the world's largest island.