BM_RL_Whale_breach_in_distress by Rebecca Lewis    A MAJESTIC whale leaps out of the ocean as it tragically searches for its mother The enormous calf spent two hours continually breaching – but tourists soon began to understand the devastating reason why. The young humpback whale, which was spotted on the southern tip of South Africa between Port Elizabeth and Port Alfred, was clearly in distress. He had been separated from his mother and breached more than 100 times in two hours as he searched the vast Indian Ocean. The large and energetic movement serves as a communication to other animals above and below the sea and the sound travels well in water. Silke Schimpf, a 45-year-old photographer who lives in Port Elizabeth with her husband, Rainier, had mixed reactions to the unusual sight. She said: “We approached the whale at a 300m distance, but realised that once the whale had seen us he was coming closer to look for a companion and he would not move away form the boat for a while. “First we were amazed, especially as the amount of breaches were stunning. After a while we felt sorry for the whale as we realised how tiring this was for the calf. “After two hours it was so exhausted that we reported the whale to authorities, warning ships not to run into it.” Silke and her husband left the young calf alone and panicked in the water as it searched for its mother – but were later relieved to come across the youngster with its mum. She added: “Two days later we found the whale reunited with its mom. “We were pleased to see that both whales were OK and resting in a sheltered area near an Marine protected Area (MPA).”   ENDS