Mark Carwardine / Fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus), two feeding, aerial view. Baja California, Mexico. March.

Franco Banfi / Short-finned pilot whale (Globicephala macrorhynchus) dorsal fin surfacing. South Tenerife, Canary Islands, Atlantic Ocean

Espen Bergersen / Gulls and Killer whales / orcas (Orcinus orca) feeding on herring. Kvaloya, Troms, Norway October

Espen Bergersen / Killer whale / orca (Orcinus orca) male. Kvaloya, Troms, Norway October

Espen Bergersen / Aerial view of Fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus). Kvanangen, Troms, Norway. November

Espen Bergersen / Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae). Kvanangen, Troms, Norway. November

Espen Bergersen / Killer whales / orcas (Orcinus orca). Spyhopping. Kvaloya, Troms, Norway November

Tony Wu / Humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae australis) male calf playing at ocean surface after coming up to breathe. Vava'u Islands, Tonga.

Jordi Chias / Humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae), Antarctic Peninsula, Antarctica.

Tony Wu / Humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) lying on its side while executing a series of pectoral fin slaps on ocean surface. Vava'u, Tonga, South Pacific.

Mark Carwardine / Aerial view Fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus) lunge-feeding in the southern Sea of Cortez (Gulf of California), Baja California, Mexico.

Mark Carwardine / Aerial view of Fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) lunge-feeding, with throat pouch distended, southern Sea of Cortez (Gulf of California), Baja California, Mexico.

Mark Carwardine / Aerial view of Fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) lunge-feeding, with mouth open and throat pouch distended, southern Sea of Cortez (Gulf of California), Baja California, Mexico.

Mark Carwardine / Aerial view Fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus) lunge-feeding in the southern Sea of Cortez (Gulf of California), Baja California, Mexico.

Mark Carwardine / Aerial view Fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus) lunge-feeding in the southern Sea of Cortez (Gulf of California), Baja California, Mexico.

Alex Mustard / Large Whale shark (Rhincodon typus) swimming over a reef. Wolf Island, Galapagos National Park, Galapagos Islands. East Pacific Ocean.

David Fleetham / Humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae), mother and calf swimming just below surface in front of the West Maui Mountains. South of Lahaina, West Maui, Hawaii.

Espen Bergersen / Killer whale / Orca (Orcinus orca) male surfacing at sunset, Kvaloya, Troms, Norway October

Tony Wu / Humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) calf 'Tahafa' male with injured pectoral fin and scarred body, with mother. Vava'u, Tonga, Pacific Ocean. COP26 Countdown Photo Competition 2021 Finalist.

Tony Wu / Humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) female with calf, pursued by males during heat run. Vava'u, Kingdom of Tonga. Pacific Ocean.

Luis Quinta / Fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) Pico Island, Azores, Portugal. May.

Luis Quinta / Fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) near surface. Pico Island, Azores, Portugal. May.

Wild Wonders of Europe / Widstrand / Dorsal fin of Orca / Killer whale (Orcinus orca) surfacing, Senja, Troms County, Norway, Scandinavia, January. Cetaceans are attracted to this area to feed on the large numbers of spawning Herring fis...

Brent Stephenson / Type B Killer whale (Orca orcinus) surfacing, close-up, Antarctic Sound, Antarctic Peninsula, Antarctic, January.

Claudio Contreras / Whale shark (Rhincodon typus) feeding view of tail, Isla Mujeres, Caribbean Sea, Mexico, August. Vulnerable species.

Ben Hall / Orcas (Orcinus orca) pair in sea surrounded by mountains, Iceland, January.

Gabriel Rojo / Southern Right whale (Eubalaena australis) breaching, Peninsula Valdes, Chubut, Patagonia, Argentina.

Espen Bergersen / Humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) with fin above water, Andfjorden close to Andoya, Nordland, Northern Norway. January.

Espen Bergersen / Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) and Killer whale (Orcinus orca) feeding on a bait ball of Herring. Andfjorden close to Andoya, Nordland, Northern Norway. January.

Ben Cranke / Fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) surfacing with mountain landscape, Liefdefjorden, Svalbard, Norway. July 2011.

Gabriel Rojo / Orca (Orcinus orca) baby age 10 days, swimming with his mother. Punta Norte Natural Reserve, Peninsula Valdes, Chubut Province, Patagonia Argentina

Chris & Monique Fallows / Orca male (Orcinus orca) raising pectoral flipper out of the water, Prince William Sound, Alaska, USA.

Ben Hall / Orcas (Orcinus orca) pod feeding on herring, wide shot showing surrounding landscape, Iceland, January 2013

Denis-Huot / Killer whales (Orcinus orca) off the coast of British Columbia, North Pacific Ocean

Chris Gomersall / 2020VISION / Killer whale (Orcinus orca) following Shetland pelagic trawler 'Charisma' close to Eshaness. October 2012.

Steven Kazlowski / Killer whale (Orcinus orca) large pod with one male approaching, in Kenai Fjords National Park, Chiswell Islands National Marine Sanctuary, South Central Alaska, USA

Brent Stephenson / Humpback whale fin (Megaptera novaeangliae) with cruiseship passengers watching from a zodiac, Admiralty Island, Alaska, United States, July. No release available.

Ole Jorgen Liodden / Blue Whale (Balaenoptera musculus) tail fluke above water surface. Spitsbergen, Svalbard, August.

Kathryn Jeffs / Southern Type B Killer whale (Orcinus orca) hunting Weddell seal (Leptonychotes weddelli), Antarctica. Taken on location for BBC Frozen Planet series, January

Mark Carwardine / Short-finned pilot whale (Globicephala macrorhynchus) at surface, Sea of Cortez, Baja California, Mexico

Sue Flood / Humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) calf just below the surface, Vava'u, Kingdom of Tonga, South Pacific, August

Steven Kazlowski / Two Ivory gulls (Pagophilia eburnea) in flight, one chasing the other away from a dead fin whale carcass along the coast of Svalbard, Norway

Wild Wonders of Europe / Lundgren / Short finned pilot whale (Globicephala macrorhynchus) with air bubble trail, Pico, Azores, Portugal, June 2009

Wild Wonders of Europe / Aukan / Killer whale / Orca (Orcinus orca) at surface, Kristiansund, Nordm?? Norway, February 2009. WWE INDOOR EXHIBITION

Hanne & Jens Eriksen / Fin whale {Balaenoptera physalus} spouting in front of iceberg, near Uummannaq, Greenland

Brandon Cole / Whale Shark (Rhincodon typus) with 10 foot tail fin and Remora fish attached, Galapagos Islands, Pacific Ocean

Brandon Cole / Humpback Whale {Megaptera novaeangliae} breaching. Alaska, USA, Pacific Ocean.

Doug Perrine / Humpback whale {Megaptera novaeangliae} performing a peduncle throw. Pacific (taken under NMFS research permit 882 issued by Hawai Whale Research Foundation)