User submission

Viral Video Shows A Giant Whale Jumping Next To A Fisherman Taking His Breath Away

From time to time, nature shows itself in full splendor to remind us of how small we really are. This power has recently been captured in the Californian waters on Monterey Bay. The bay is home to many species of ocean animals and is on the migratory path of Gray and Humpback whales, making it a popular whale-watching spot.

More info: Blue Ocean Whale Watch

An enormous humpback whale has been captured breaching the waters of Monterey Bay in California

Image credits: Douglas Croft

The cool photos and the video footage (which you can see below) shows the whale shooting up through the ocean waves close to an unsuspecting fishing boat named Baja Sueno. “The whale is huge! If I’d been the fisherman, I’d probably need some new underwear,” the photographer who captured the incredible close encounter told the media.

The creature made the fishing boat look incredibly tiny in comparison

Viral Video Shows A Giant Whale Jumping Next To A Fisherman Taking His Breath Away

Image credits: Douglas Croft

The photographer – Douglas Craft – took pictures from the porthole of another boat from an upward angle that made the sea breaching whale look even bigger. “I went below deck to shoot from a porthole close to the waterline. That’s what gives this amazing perspective of looking up at the whale,” Douglas told a news agency.

The awe-inspiring images have been captured by a photographer, Douglas Croft

Viral Video Shows A Giant Whale Jumping Next To A Fisherman Taking His Breath Away

Image credits: Douglas Croft

The photographer also had help from a whale watcher, Kate Cummings, who managed to capture a video of the whale breaching in action. The whale watcher revealed to the media: “It was fun capturing this video. The whale had already breached multiple times much further away from the fisherman. But sometimes when whales breach multiple times, they’re also heading a specific direction when they’re underwater building momentum for the next breach. I figured the next breach would be around the fisherman because the whale was heading that way and sure enough! Though I didn’t expect the whale and the boat to line up so perfectly.”

Adult humpback whales weigh around 25–30 metric tons (28–33 short tons)

Viral Video Shows A Giant Whale Jumping Next To A Fisherman Taking His Breath Away

Image credits: Douglas Croft

Their size ranges in length from 12–16 m (39–52 ft). The humpback is known for breaching as well as other distinctive behaviors, making them very popular among whale watchers.

Watch the incredible footage below

146Kviews

Neringa is a proud writer at Bored Panda who used to study English and French linguistics. Although she has many different interests, she's particularly drawn to covering stories about pop culture as well as history. While not at the office, this Panda enjoys creepy movies, poetry, photography and learning how to play the piano.

Read less »

What do you think ?

POST

Ben Dover 5 years ago

Going to need a bigger boat.

7points

Night Owl 5 years ago

Yup maxresdefa...3c8647.jpg

1point

Load More Replies...

Jeny Kennedy 5 years ago

I've had this happen while commercial trolling in SE. Orcas, whales, and dolphins are playful when they want to be and have no issue following boats "for fun". (Don't get me started on sea lions.) One time, a humpback made its way into the middle of the drag during the first King opening of the season and began "chasing boats". It seemed to be just one juvenile breaching again and again extremely close to our boat in particular. He kept it up for a solid 20 minutes. Just when we thought we had shaken him, he'd do it again even closer. We ended up bringing in our wires for fear of having them ripped off and heading in to anchor for the night. I have the video to prove just how close he was to us. Not nerve wracking...just annoying...and majestic. Okay, maybe a LITTLE nerve wracking. I miss being out on the water, getting 5 hours of sleep a night, gutting 500 salmon on a good day, covered in blood, and in general, just being an outlaw.

5points

わｓｐ 5 years ago

Is it just luck that whales miss the boats? Or is it just that the whales see the boats and intentionally miss so that they don't kill us?

5points

Carol Emory 5 years ago

They intentionally miss the boats. It's their way of socializing. Kind of like they're saying "I'm really happy to meet you!"

16points

Load More Replies...

DemPugs 5 years ago

Whales and dolphins are pretty intelligent. I live by a body of water with whales, and if we see one, we have to stay about 100m away, so they don't hit the boat. I think they know where the boat is, but it's just a precaution.

4points

The Cappy 5 years ago

I doubt they're thinking about the occupants of the boat so much. But they're not blind. They can see there's a solid hunk of something sitting on the surface. They have no desire to hurt themselves.

1point

Load More Comments

POST

Ben Dover 5 years ago

Going to need a bigger boat.

7points

Night Owl 5 years ago

Yup maxresdefa...3c8647.jpg

1point

Load More Replies...

Jeny Kennedy 5 years ago

5points

わｓｐ 5 years ago

Is it just luck that whales miss the boats? Or is it just that the whales see the boats and intentionally miss so that they don't kill us?

5points

Carol Emory 5 years ago

They intentionally miss the boats. It's their way of socializing. Kind of like they're saying "I'm really happy to meet you!"

16points

Load More Replies...

DemPugs 5 years ago

4points

The Cappy 5 years ago

I doubt they're thinking about the occupants of the boat so much. But they're not blind. They can see there's a solid hunk of something sitting on the surface. They have no desire to hurt themselves.

1point