You can spend an entire day on the ocean and never catch sight of the majestic humpback whale, so it’s a cause for celebration when one appears. However, triumph turned quickly to terror for a whale-watching tour, when a humpback crashed into their boat off the coast of Maui.
The population of whales in the area was high due to breeding and nursing season, which may have added to the confusion that caused the accident. Just this light impact effortlessly threw the boat about five feet, estimated passenger Jennifer Nap, who also captured the video.
It is illegal to harass whales, but Nap assures that they were observing from a respectful distance when the whale headed directly toward them.
It’s doubtful that the whale was behaving aggressively, but rather was probably distracted by its nearby calf, and a male in the area. It probably just failed to notice the boat, who’s engines were silent. Also, humpback whales are known to slap their flukes and issue a trumpet blow to warn their enemies. The behaviour of this whale, lazily slapping its pectoral fins, did not seem that agitated.
The whole event was over in a flash, leaving awestruck passengers to contemplate the size and power of their close encounter, and a pretty epic video for the rest of us to enjoy.
