Whale – Syndication Server

Watch: Mysterious white whale thrills boaters off Thailand

The sighting of a white whale near the Phi Phi Islands was the first in the region and possibly in the country.

A white whale was spotted recently off Thailand in what might have been a first for the country.

The appearance of the whale alongside a tourism vessel was brief and the species was not confirmed, although there was speculation that it could have been a Bryde’s whale or Omura’s whale.

The sighting occurred in the Andaman Sea near the Phi Phi Islands.

In the footage, the whale swims swiftly alongside the boat before veering off and surfacing briefly as tourists marveled at the sight.

Yutthapong Damsrisuk, chief of Hat Nopparat Thara-Mu Ko Phi Phi National Park, told The Nation that it was the first known sighting of a white whale in the region and possibly the first off Thailand.

Damsrisuk did not provide the date of the sighting.

The whale was most likely leucistic. Leucism involves the partial loss of pigmentation, causing white or pale coloration.

Boaters in the area were informed of the whale’s presence and asked to exercise caution.

Watch: Surfers attempt to push struggling whale back to sea

A young sperm whale that stranded Tuesday morning on New York’s Rockaway Peninsula has died after a valiant attempt by surfers to save the mammal.

The accompanying footage, captured by Timothy Moriarty, shows several surfers attempting to shove the 35-foot whale into deeper water against the tidal surge.

According to the Rockaway Times, the whale was spotted trapped on a jetty by Army Corps contractors from Michels at 7:30 a.m.

The contractors, who were on an unrelated job, helped surfers free the whale from the jetty. But the mammal did not swim off and later died.

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Contractors used heavy equipment to haul the whale ashore as biologists reportedly were en route to perform a necropsy that could determine the cause of death.

The Rockaway Times uploaded several images of the incident to Facebook.

The stranding occurred in the Queens neighborhood of Arverne.

Watch: Breaching humpback whale makes boat ‘disappear’

Humpback whales can measure 60 feet and weigh 40 tons, so when they breach nearly free of the surface their splashdowns are loud and spectacular.

Humpback whales can measure 60 feet and weigh 40 tons, so when they launch their massive bodies skyward their splashdowns are loud and spectacular.

The accompanying footage, shared Saturday by Discovery Whale Watch in Monterey, Ca., shows a breaching whale displacing so much water that it temporarily masks the vessel in the background.

“Watch our boat (New Horizon) disappear,” Discovery wrote on Facebook. “This humpback whale breached between our two boats. 10 out of 10!”

Discovery Whale Watch is based in Fisherman’s Wharf. Its website describes what tourists might encounter during the summer and fall:

“We expect to see humpback whales daily but we can also view blue whales, fin whales, gray whales (finishing migration), killer whales and a variety of other dolphin species.”

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Breaching whale’s ‘shock wave’ generates chaos for kayakers

On Sunday, KINY shared an image showing kayakers in Hoonah experiencing a “close encounter of the whale kind!”

Last week we shared footage showing five humpback whales breaching almost simultaneously near Hoonah, Alaska. It was a surreal and unexpected scene enjoyed by a family during a picnic.

On Sunday, KINY shared the accompanying image showing kayakers in Hoonah experiencing an extremely “close encounter of the whale kind!”

The Facebook description reads, in part: “According to Hoonah Fire Chief Paul Comolli, the shock wave from the whale’s breach rocked three kayaks and flipped one completely over!”

Comolli captured the image at Point Frederick.

The KINY post was widely shared and some were critical of the kayakers for approaching too closely and placing themselves and the whale in danger.

Humpback whales are known for their spectacular breaches and should always be given a wide berth.

Pro surfer, whale display powerful moves in unison; video

A photographer has captured video footage showing a pro surfer attempting an aerial maneuver at the precise moment a whale throws its tail fluke behind the wave.

The surfer is Brianna Cope of Hawaii. Alex Hayes, the photographer, told FTW Outdoors that Cope was practicing for a World Surf League competition in South Africa in early July when he noticed an active whale beyond the lineup.

“It was slapping its tail on the water in the same spot for about two minutes and then Brianna took the wave and it randomly lined up,” Hayes said.

Hayes asked his social media followers to watch the video twice to see that the movements of Cope and the whale almost seem choreographed.

Cope did not respond to an inquiry from FTW Outdoors. Her Instagram description of Hayes’ footage reads: “Sharing the ocean with an incredible animal. Mother Nature is amazing.”

Hayes did not identify the whale species but a researcher who examined the clip said it was almost certainly a humpback whale.

Humpback whale picks up unintended passenger; photos

A Monterey Bay photographer on Saturday shared images showing a sea lion perched on the belly of a humpback whale.

A Monterey Bay photographer on Saturday shared images showing a sea lion perched on the belly of a humpback whale. It was an unplanned ride for the pinniped, which had been feeding on the same school of anchovies the whale had been lunging after.

Yee, who captured the images in 2020, re-shared them after they popped up as a Facebook memory. “One of the weirdest moments I’ve ever experienced at sea,” he recalled.

Yee was working as naturalist for Blue Ocean Whale Watch out of Moss Landing, aboard the High Spirits, when the bizarre interaction occurred.

He told FTW Outdoors that he was unaware of the presence of the sea lion until after the trip.

Kate Cummings, High Spirits captain, asked Yee to inspect his images because she had spotted the sea lion “tumbling down the length of the whale,” she said.

Cummings posted the images to Facebook with the description:

“Today our naturalist Eric Austin Yee caught the hilarious moment when a humpback whale launched out of the water lunge-feeding for anchovies and took an unsuspecting California sea lion for a ride!

“We commonly see humpback whales and sea lions feeding together on anchovies – but the sea lions have to be alert and get out of the whales’ way! This whale was too quick!”

In an interview, Cummings said, “Apparently I was laughing so loud that the captain on the other boat could hear me. It was funny because you could tell the sea lion was fine, albeit completely surprised.”

Humpback whales can catch thousands of anchovies in one gulp. Sea lions and birds – always nearby – must exercise caution as they attempt to participate in the feast.

Watch: ‘Luckiest anchovy in the world’ escapes voracious whale

A photographer in California’s Monterey Bay has captured video footage showing an anchovy flying from the mouth of a lunge-feeding humpback whale.

A photographer in California’s Monterey Bay has captured slow-motion footage showing an anchovy flying from the mouth of a lunge-feeding humpback whale.

Slater Moore Photography posted the footage to Instagram on Monday along with the description, “The luckiest anchovy in the world.” He put the amusing scene to Katy Perry’s “The One That Got Away.”

https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cgu43BFjysx/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Moore captured a remarkable moment considering that humpback whales typically lunge through massive schools of fish and can capture thousands in one gulp, yet only the one anchovy appears in the footage.

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The fish was obviously propelled upward by the force of the lunging whale, while wriggling in a flight for its life.

“Then a bird got him,” one of the commenters joked.

Reads another comment: “I don’t know… I think the seal on the right definitely saw that.”

–Image courtesy of Slater Moore Photography

Watch: Feeding whale lands on fishing boat in dangerous encounter

In an encounter that could have been far worse, a lunge-feeding whale landed on the bow of a boat, forcing the stern out of the water.

In what was a dangerous encounter that could have been far worse, a lunge-feeding whale landed on the bow of a fishing boat, forcing the stern out of the water and no doubt putting a scare into the passengers.

The incident occurred off Plymouth, Massachusetts, around 10 a.m. Sunday in the White Horse Beach area where humpback whales have been spotted feeding recently, according to WCVB and a press release from Plymouth Harbormaster Chad Hunter.

Video of the encounter was captured by “Leo and Gasser, age 15” from a nearby boat, ViralHog reported.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/WL9RGZxeJYA

A Harbormaster boat assigned to the area to watch for any potential violations of the Marine Mammal Act responded to check on the vessel occupants. The boat operator reported that nobody was injured and the 19-foot vessel sustained no major damage that effected its seaworthiness.

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The incident is being investigated by the Massachusetts Environmental Police.

A photo provided by the Harbormaster shows the extent of the vessel’s damage. What injuries the whale might have sustained is unclear.

Though Hunter said the whale was breaching, it was clearly lunge feeding, as baitfish can be seen jumping out of the water in the video.

The encounter shows that these interactions can be dangerous for boaters and whales, and boaters need to heed federal guidelines that require them to stay 100 yards away from whales.

Photos courtesy of WCVB and the Plymouth Harbormaster.

Watch: Humpback whale follows closely behind swimmer

A drone operator has shared footage showing a humpback whale following a distance swimmer off Australia’s Bondi Beach.

A drone operator has shared footage showing a humpback whale closely following a distance swimmer off Australia’s Bondi Beach.

In the footage (posted below), the whale appears observe the swimmer as she leads the way, perhaps unaware that she’s being watched by the gentle giant.

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The footage, Captured this week by Drone Shark App, was put to the 1960s Ricky Nelson hit, “I Will Follow You.”

Its lyrics begin, “I will follow you… Follow you wherever you may go… There isn’t an ocean too deep… A mountain so high it can keep me away…”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by MARINE LIFE SHOW🐳🐬🐋🦈 FROM Air (@dronesharkapp)

Several viewers commented that other drones can be seen disturbingly close to the whale in the footage, while one commenter observed that the whale seems to mimic the swimmer’s movements.

Humpback whales, which can measure 60 feet and weigh 40 tons, are famously curious and gregarious.

Drone Shark App uses its cameras to monitor the presence of sharks and other marine life in the region.

–Image courtesy of Drone Shark App

Watch: Breaching whale crashes onto boat, injuring passengers

Video footage captured Saturday in Mexico’s Sea of Cortez shows a breaching humpback whale landing directly on top of a boat, damaging the vessel and injuring passengers.

Video footage captured Saturday in Mexico’s Sea of Cortez shows a breaching humpback whale landing on top of a small boat, damaging the vessel and injuring passengers.

The harrowing incident occurred in Topolobampo Bay in northwestern Sinaloa. Several vessels were crowded around the whale and their proximity to the leviathan appears to have created a dangerous situation.

Mexico News Daily reported that four passengers – two men and two women – were transported to a hospital in Los Mochis. At least one of the men, a former government employee in the municipality of Ahome, suffered serious injuries.

Muy bonito y todo pero también muy peligro… #Ballena #Topolobampo pic.twitter.com/tmSKQxiNPv

— 💫 Karem 💫 (@BrujitaMerak_) May 15, 2022

As viewers can see, the large whale leaps almost clear of the water before landing on the back half of the yacht, collapsing part of its roof and its railings.

The source of the video is unclear but a Twitter user named Karem, who is from Sinaloa, shared the accompanying video showing the collision, preceded by another video that shows two vessels dangerously close a breaching whale.

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Omar Mendoza Silva, coordinator of Civic Protection in Ahome, told Mexico News Daily that the whale might have felt harassed by the boaters.

Gerardo Vargas, mayor of Ahome, cautioned: “Please do not get too close to the whales. We can enjoy their beauty, but at a distance, prudently.”

Humpback whales are known for their spectacular breaching behavior. They can weigh up to 50 tons. It was not clear if the whale that landed on the boat was seriously injured.