Jumping for joy! Humpback whales breach off the coast of Alaska for the sheer fun of it

By Tom Goodenough

Published: 11:18 EDT, 27 June 2012 | Updated: 11:19 EDT, 27 June 2012

Nature can often leave us marvelling with its expressive and colourful displays of beauty.

But a show of pure happiness put on by wildlife is probably a little more unusual.

That's exactly what these Alaskan humpback whales were photographed doing, however, as they leapt for joy in the Pacific Ocean.

These Alaskan humpback whales leaping into the air could well be the happiest in the world

One theory is that the huge creatures breach for no more reason than simple joy

The wildlands of the Alaskan coast served as a picture-perfect backdrop to the mighty show

The huge whales even reached heights of 45 feet in the air during the mighty displays.

And although scientists remain unsure why humpback whales put on the impressive shows, a theory is that they do it out of simple and unadulterated joy.

The whales can leap up to 45 feet out of the water whilst breaching, and cause a mighty splash on landing

The enormous Humpback whales weigh in at around 30 tonnes each

One photographer insists Frederick Sound, in the north east Pacific, is the best place in the world to view the shows

Here, away from the presence of humans, the impressive creatures 'breach' on a frequent basis

One nature photographer, Jon Cornforth, from Seattle in the U.S., has found what he believes to be the 'capital' of humpback whale breaching.

Away from the presence of humans, he says a quiet corner of the north east Pacific, named Frederick Sound, is a place like no other to witness the breaching in action.

Mr Cornforth said: 'Once a whale breaches, others will follow suit as if to say, 'I am happy, too'.

'Leaping out of the water and into the air has got to be one of the most powerful ways to communicate happiness to each other.

The impressive creatures can grow up to 45-feet long and weigh a staggering 30-tonnes

Acrobatic: This beautiful - and colossal - creature even threw its fins into the air as it breached from the water

The man who took the incredible catalogue of images has 20 years of experience photographing whales

'Playful juveniles are frequently the ones to start the adults off.'

The humpback whales photographed in the incredible pictures were part of a population of up to 5,000 that experts estimate live in the Pacific at any one time.

During summer, they travel to the cold waters off the Alaskan coast to feed.

And in the winter, they swim down to the warmer shores that lie close to Mexico.

The beautiful, scaled surface of the humpback whale's mouth can clearly be made out in this close-up

Conclusive scientific evidence as to why the creatures engage in the impressive displays has not been forthcoming

The huge displacement of water caused by the humpback whales leaping into the air is clearly visible

Speaking about the sightings of the mighty creatures in action at Frederick Sound, Mr Cornforth said he believes the area is unrivalled:

'It has to be the best place in the world to have a chance to see humpback whales breaching.

'If there are a couple of hundred humpbacks close by, I would witness a breach at least every 30 minutes, whereas in most places you could wait hours and still not see any activity.

'Sometimes curious whales will come up to my boat to investigate and breach close to me.

'That's one of the most incredible experiences in the world.'