photographer Mike Korostelev, captured the beautiful encounter while diving in the Indian Ocean.
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These stunning shots show the enormous sperm whale releasing milk into the water for her calf to feed.
The sperm whale calf stimulates its mother’s mammary glands before the milk is released to the water, something which has never been captured on camera.
Mike said: “It was big honour for me to be there and so close in that private moment of a whale’s life.”
Sperm whales have inverted nipples, this means when the calf is ready to feed, they dive underneath their mother and nudge the mammary glands.
Once stimulated, the mother’s nipples emerge and milk is released into the water. The young calf then feeds on the milk directly from the water.
Research suggests that sperm whales feed on milk this way due to their mouths not being conveniently shaped to support suckling.
The female sperm whales and their offspring usually gather in pods of up to 20 members.
Sperm whales have the biggest brains on earth, approximately 5 times larger than humans! They are also the worlds largest toothed predators.
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