Tony Wu / Humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) female performing a tail slap, Vava'u, Tonga, South Pacific

Tony Wu / Humpback whale (Megaptera novangliaea) executing an energetic tail slap, creating a cascade of seawater, Vava'u, Tonga, South Pacific

Tony Wu / Humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) executing a powerful tail slap, sending water flying in all directions, South Africa.

Tony Wu / Humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) adult female executing a reverse tail slap, with dorsal surface hitting the surface of the ocean, Vava'u, Tonga, South Pacific

Hiroya Minakuchi / Orca (Orcinus orca) tail slapping, Hokkaido, Japan

Roland Seitre / Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) tail slapping, Hervey Bay, Queensland, Australia

Hiroya Minakuchi / Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) performing tail slap, Alaska

Hiroya Minakuchi / Southern Right Whale (Eubalaena australis) tail slapping, Valdes Peninsula, Argentina

Matthias Breiter / Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) tail slapping, British Columbia, Canada

Charlie Summers / Orca / Killer Whale (Orcinus orca) using its tail to slap the surface to stun herring. Frederick Sound, Alaska, July.

Matthias Breiter / Orca (Orcinus orca) playing, Queen Charlotte Sound, British Columbia, Canada

Luciano Candisani / Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) tail slaping, southern Bahia, Brazil