This is the heart-breaking moment the grieving mother of a young whale killed by orcas returns to her offspring’s corpse in a desperate bid to save it.
The mother (left) of the dead humpback calf returns to the corpse of its offspring (right) after having watched it being killed by orcas
After having killed the young calf, the two predatory orcas set about tearing its skin off in a brutal display of aggression
Little was left of the calf after it was drowned and torn apart in the savage attack
Pictured is the baby swimming with its mother prior to being isolated, drowned and torn apart. The images were taken by photographer Craig McInally
Left, the baby swims with its mother prior to the attack. Right, its lifeless corpse floats upside down after being savagely attacked
Craig added: ‘The first day we were diving with the humpbacks the mother was patient and comfortable with us.
‘She allowed us to get extremely close and the baby seemed inquisitive, passing close to us whenever coming up to breathe every three minutes or so.
Photographer Craig McInally, 40, caught the rare event when he was diving. Here the baby and mother are pictured swimming together
Fully grown humpback whales, such as the one pictured by Mr McInally, can grow to be 16metres in length
The baby calf cuddles up to its mother during a swim through a Pacific
‘The next day another diver noticed an odd fin breaking the surface. I looked over and was shocked to see the unmistakable fin of a male orca.
Photographer Craig McInally, 40, caught the rare event when he was diving off the Revillagigedo Islands in the Pacific (pictured). In this image, fins breaking the surface reveal the commotion underwater