An image of a young humpback with an adult southern right whale has stunned researchers and left them scrambling to find out if adoption between different species of the ocean giants has been documented.
Esperance photographer Jess Wohling only realised the difference between the pair when she was going through footage taken at Eleven Mile Beach, to the east of town.
"I was like 'surely this can't be right'," she said.
"So I Googled humpbacks and noticed the pectoral fins were quite long on the little calf.
"I got pretty excited."
She sent the photos to whale researcher Katy Fannei, from Albany's Little White Whale Project, who confirmed the pair were different species and was "completely blown away".
"I've actually texted everyone I know," Ms Wohling said.
"I'm friends or colleagues with a lot of whale researchers who have way more years of experience than I have and all of them were really surprised as well."
Ms Fannei said the two species rarely crossed paths and certainly did not tend to stick together.
She planned to try to find the adult in a database of southern right whales, which could help answer some questions, such as whether it was definitely female and could be taking on a mothering role.
"I think it can certainly be the most likely case that it's kind of an adoption," Ms Fannei said.
She said a mother and calf would usually be close together.
"They have a strong bond, especially in the first year or first few months, and they rarely leave each other's side," she said.
"That's what I could see in the pictures, definitely."
She also hoped to find out whether it was possible for a humpback to feed from and be raised by a southern right whale.
"I never thought I would see that in my life," Ms Fannei said.
"We'll do our best to find the adult southern right whale in the database and maybe ask around a bit more.
"And if that's never been found that's definitely something we should bring out into the world and let scientists know."
