09/11/2020
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“So there’s some important things to know when you see a post like this:
1. We did not approach this whale at close range at all. In fact, it was jumping out of the water when we first found it so we were giving it even MORE space than usual. After a breach, this whale disappeared and popped up directly behind us. I had no choice but to shut the boat down.
2. From that point on the whale circled us at close range for almost an hour, checking us out, spyhopping, playing, splashing, rolling, and waving its tail.
3. You have to respect the power of these whales. With that said, they have truly incredible body control. One wrong lift of its tail and look how easily it could have smacked our boat, but this whale knew exactly what it was doing, and we were never in any danger at all. This was 100% play behavior. (We are getting near their breeding season and social behavior like this is more common during this time)
4. What would have been dangerous is trying to drive away from this whale while it was so close to us. The whale acted this way towards our vessel because the motors were off. It trusted it could act the way it acted because it knew we would not run it over.
Finally, while I was torn sharing this, I decided to post this for a couple of reasons. The main thing is with Humpback Whales being such a social species, it’s inevitable that close encounters like this will happen with another boat, so I felt a post explaining how these situations go might help keep both the whale, and the humans on that future boat safe. It is crucial that you keep a respectable distance (recommended 100 yards in the US) from whales for the safety of both people and the animals, but sometimes the whales have other ideas and will come straight over to your boat to play. The crucial thing is to turn off your motors and to not panic and try to drive away. As you can see from how well this whale controls its tail in this video, the whale is in complete control and will not harm you...as long as you respect it!
Filmed aboard an 8hr trip with “
