Because this takes the discerning eye of a professional, I'll go ahead and say that this is not a real humpback whale. It is a really cool replica in Hervey (pronounced Harvey to locals) Bay where there were plenty of the real animals about. Since I did not actually stand next to a real whale, I can't say for certain if the dimensions are accurate, but it seems pretty realistic. It is not an exaggeration to say that seeing an adult humpback breach is a life changing experience. In the same way I wonder how the giant hulk of the jet that flew us over the Pacific for 12 hours ever got off the ground (carrying a city's worth of passengers no less) I also cannot imagine how these animals can propel their huge bodies straight up out of the water, but they do. At the height of their breach they throw themselves in a twist over to their side, coming down on the sea surface in an explosion of water. Whale investigators don't know for certain why the whales do this. One theory is to remove parasites, although there seemed to be a consensus that the calves do it just because they can. Kids are kids the world around.
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