When venturing out on a whale-watching tour, you hope and pray to see some whales. However, when you see the whales, they are typically off in the distance. Unfortunatley, during one whale-watching tour, a humpback whale surprised the guests on board by causing a near-terrifying collision.
Humpback Whale Surprises Whale-Watching Tour
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People Magazine shared that a whale-watching excursion near Vancouver, Canada, had a sudden surprise when a humpback whale "unexpectedly surfaces in the vessel's path." CBC reported that on the 23rd of October, "crew members of Prince of Whales Adventures made a 'decisive' maneuver to avoid the massive mammal."
Although the vessel stopped almost immediately, there was still minimal contact with the whale. Not only was there contact with the whale, but "the sudden stop allegedly caused several passengers to fall." That fall led to some minor injuries. Four passengers of the whale-watching tour were transported to the hospital for minor injuries.
Prince of Whales admitted that they were taken aback by the encounter "since the whale was not being actively monitored at the time." The decisive maneuver may have been enough to stop a massive casualty, but minimal contact was still made in the collision. People Magazine confirmed that the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) received a report of the collision. Furthermore, the humpback whale involved in the collision was seen surfacing three times after the incident.
Not The First Whale Collision
Unfortunatley, this is not the first instance of a whale and vessel collision. People Magazine shares that just mere weeks ago, a high-speed passenger ferry struck a humpback whale calf. The calf suffered a deep gash near its dorsal fin from the collision. Humans have been, and continue to be, one of the biggest threats to whales.
The DFO shared that humpbacks are "particularly vulnerable to ship strikes." Additionally, they are also known ot get stuck in fishing gear.
