Mesmerising drone footage of a mother whale and her baby playing together in the water off Chile on September 8.

The pair of southern right whales were seen around 100 metres from the Playa Grande beach in the town of Quintay where they gently swam next to each other in the surf.

Authorities in the area asked the boats to avoid the whales and respect the rules of observing only the animals by not trying to approach them in the ocean.

Gabriel Maldonado, regional manager of the Rescue and Conservation Unit of Sernapesca Valparaiso, said: ''The southern right whale is highly migratory and moves normally near the coast between Chile and Peru, sightings are rare but it is normal to approach the shore.

''It is not permitted to view them from boats because being so close to the shore can cause them to be disoriented and become stranded.''

The pair of whales stayed in the area for several days before moving on.

After facing decades of indiscriminate hunting, the southern right whale is a world-protected species since 1936 and since 2009 it is in a critical state of conservation.

The southern right whale can measure up to 18 meters and weigh an average of 60 tonnes with a maximum weight of 100 tons. Each individual whale is identified by the calluses that they have on their heads.

The mothers accompany their young for about a year, during the period of breastfeeding, and during the austral summer these marine mammals can reach the cold waters of the Antarctic to feed on krill and copepods.