Man Captures Video Of Whale 'Tail Sailing'. The Motivation For This Phenomenon Is Unknown

August 14, 2023

An Australian ocean explorer just captured a rare sighting of a whale "tail sailing" on video.

The term "tail sailing" refers to the action of whales lifting their tails out of the water for long periods of time. The process is rarely observed by humans, and the precise motivation for this phenomenon is still unknown.

video of whale tail sailing out of water
Credit: Brodie Moss / @ybsbrodie on TikTok

Some experts believe whales do this to regulate their body temperature. If a whale is exposing its fluke above the water, it could be a way to cool down or warm up, depending on the environmental conditions.

It could also be that the whale is simply resting. Sperm whales, are known to rest by floating vertically in a head-down position.

Whatever the reason, it is absolutely fascinating to see.

@ybsbrodie
whale vs transparent kayak
♬ original sound - Brodie Moss

Brodie Moss' TikTok video (above) has more than 31 million views since it was posted on August 13.

He has since posted the full version of the video to his YouTube channel.

"I believe this is called 'tail sailing' and it's really rare for humpback whales to do, rarely been captured on film and no one really knows why they do it? Hopefully this footage helps understand it a little better," he captioned it.