This has been a long and incredible blue whale season off Southern California, with close encounters enjoyed by marine mammal enthusiasts from shore and on boats, and from stand-up paddleboards and kayaks.
Some of the footage has been amazing. It has included first-ever-documented above-surface vocalization. People have witnessed courtship behavior, and TV news crews have shared aerial footage of the majestic creatures, revealing their enormous size.
In one case, off Dana Point, a man on a stand-up paddleboard was just a few feet away when a giant blue whale revealed its broad fluke as he filmed the episode. The latest great clip, though it's long and unedited (pay attention to the beginning and the 1:15 and 2:15 marks), was posted recently to YouTube by a user named MrRJCtube.
From a kayak he captured surface lunge-feeding while filimg with what presumably was a helmet camera. He also dove below the surface and enjoyed incredibly close approaches with a gargantuan blue whale.
While some of the footage is spectacular, the videographer undoubtedly placed himself at risk by getting so close to such a large and powerful creature (blue whales can measure 100 feet and weigh up to 150 tons). He might also have violated National Marine Fisheries Service guidelines.
Days after posting the video he shared this comment on his YouTube channel: "I'd like to take a moment to state that I don't recommend, endorse or in any way want to encourage anyone to try and swim with these whales. The whales are large, unpredictable animals and potentially dangerous."
It was a treasured experience, for sure. But was it wise for him to get so close?
Said Monica DeAngelis, a marine mammal biologist with the NOAA Fisheries Service: "These are wild and powerful animals. One move of a flipper or the whale's fluke and this person could have been seriously hurt."
the guy didn't do anything wrong , at least what I could see at this movie. from other side, it's really amazing to see this beautiful whale and especially to see how close they are.
Posted by: joyce | Oct 25, 2011 at 02:41 PM
Concur.
There seems to be this misplaced notion held by some that human beings that enjoy the natural world have some affirmative duty to, what, avoid an "experience" with a whale, bear or other majestic creature lest they "disturb" them in their struggle for survival. That is just nonsense. There is nothing quite like sharing space with a powerful animal and when someone captures such a chance encounter on video, I am jealous but appreciative. If anything, these sad folks are just usually displacing their aggression on others that are living their dreams.
Just this: there is a clear distinction between putting yourself in danger when kayaking around whales or fly-fishing in Alaska among Brown bears and, say, selfishly keeping a Bengal tiger on your property, i.e., thereby creating a foreseeable hazard to others and, ultimately to the tiger, if and when it attacks a human being as the opportunity allows and its instincts direct.
When I read people's extremely negative reactions to people seeking out exhilarating experiences such as this (or White shark cage diving), it makes me wonder if they just don't believe there is any good in humanity, and hence they deify animals, as if, in the end, they are somehow "better" than us and we should apologetically skulk away.
Nonsense, I say.
"Thy love afar is spite at home." - Emerson
Posted by: drudown | Oct 19, 2011 at 04:40 PM
@Sedagive - Give me a break. You try to sound like an ultra-compassionate nature lover but you just come off sounding ultra-unintelligent. The guy was in a kayak, not a schooner with a harpoon. If anything, his video reminds me of just how majestic the blue whale is.
Posted by: MSB | Oct 18, 2011 at 10:00 PM
Give it a rest, Sedagive. You enjoyed the video -- a perspective few ever even see on the TV screen, let alone in person. While some (few) nations are still killing whales (including the US, unfortunately) and corporations like SeaWorld and the Miami Seaquarium hold them captive, it's ridiculous to hope the guy gets arrested for paddling near a whale in the wild. Unlike a powerboat with a prop that can hurt the whale, he was the only one at risk. Moreover, they may be gigantic, but they're well aware of their power, and their wisdom trumps our own, so... let it be.
Posted by: JT | Oct 18, 2011 at 08:28 PM
I hope this guy gets arrested. It's illegal for boats AND paddleboards AND kayaks to be that close. Very stupid move.
Posted by: Sedagive | Oct 18, 2011 at 02:22 PM
Talk about up close and personal...Apparently this guy has been out there with the whales and getting quite comfortable around them. That's an amazing encounter, but not one that I'll be duplicating any time soon. If whales possess human-like intelligence, they may also exhibit human-like weaknesses, like being a klutz. You may not know which one is the klutz until it's too late. Avoiding whales named "Lennie" ("Of Mice and Men") might be a good start. ;-)
Posted by: BMW | Oct 18, 2011 at 01:49 PM