Intense video shows humpback whales breaching just feet from kayakers
A few kayakers got a little too close to three whales showing off their jumping skills last week in British Columbia, Canada.
According to the video, the group was safely observing a mother nursing her calf off the coast of the Penn Islands when the whales descended into the water and out of sight. Initially, the kayakers were at a safe distance, but when the whales suddenly breached the surface, they were much, much closer than before.
“There’s not a whole lot you can do when the humpbacks decide they’re going to move,” Heather Lawrence, who filmed part of the clip told the CBC.
The calf breached first, which was impressive enough, but the mother whale was the real showstopper.
“The baby jumped, and that was like, ‘Wow, that’s amazing.’ But then the mom came up right away and she’s humongous compared to baby,” said Lawrence.
Fortunately, the whales did not hit or injure any of the kayakers as they were showing off their impressive bellyflop skills.
Lawrence also explained to the CBC that when the mother whale breached, she immediately dropped her camera to paddle away from the whale as the guides instructed.
