(Australian Associated Press)

Valentine’s Day was extra special for a group Antarctic marine expeditioners who have returned to Australia after seeing scores of whales in a rare feeding display.

While conducting more than two months of research, the Australian Antarctic Division-led expedition witnessed a rare mass of Antarctic krill in the Indian Ocean, much further north than their usual habitat.

“On Valentine’s Day we encountered a rare super-swarm of Antarctic krill with more than 100 humpback whales feeding in the area,” investigator Andrew Constable told reporters in Hobart on Wednesday.