Incredibly rare sight at a popular beach stuns: ‘Mother Nature at her best’

Spectacular footage has captured a baby humpback whale swimming close to its mother at a popular beach in a rare sighting.

The video showed the newborn baby swimming at Cabarita Beach, near Tweed Heads, on the New South Wales north coast on Wednesday.

The video was shared on Instagram by Brandan Trudinger, a content creator who runs professional photography and video production company Ninefive Creative.

The clip showed the animal and its mother swimming side by side, with the mother then extending her left fin so her baby could nestle on the body part.

“I saw what I think is a rare albino humpback whale,” Mr. Trudinger wrote.

“From what I’ve heard, these kinds of sightings are quite rare. Are there any whale experts out there who can share some details?”

Social media users praised Trudinger for capturing the impressive footage, with some adding that it was actually a humpback whale.

‘Sorry to burst the bubble, this is a normal newborn. They are very light gray as [they are] “Born,” someone wrote.

Others were impressed by the impressive spectacle.

“The footage is clear. Beautiful images,” someone said.

“Very cool images,” said another.

One of them added: ‘Mother Nature at her best.’

Others said Trudinger was very lucky to have encountered the whales at a very intimate moment during their migration.

‘Amazing find. Always a great day when you see a mother and her newborn,’ said a third.

Humpback whale babies are usually very light or gray in color after birth, but after a few days the animals begin to darken.

Female humpback whales usually give birth to one calf every two to three years.

When pregnant, the animals migrate to warmer waters, including parts of North Queensland, to ensure they give birth to their calves safely.

The whales return to Antarctica after the calf has developed a layer of fat to protect itself from the colder water.

Calves can weigh as much as 3,600 kg at birth.