Humpback gently moves surfers away from calf.

If that one guy hadn't tried to touch the calf I think they could have watched for a lot longer.

P.S. 1st embedded vid - look at me the IT guru lol

a reply to: johnb
Can't say I would have blamed her if she would have brought her tail down right in the middle of them.
Does nobody remember "look, but don't touch"?

She was giving them an incredible gift, being that close to her calf.

originally posted by: johnb

If that one guy hadn't tried to touch the calf I think they could have watched for a lot longer.

P.S. 1st embedded vid - look at me the IT guru lol

I have been surfing since 1985....This is an example of what NOT to do....ever.

originally posted by: Oathkeeper73

originally posted by: johnb

If that one guy hadn't tried to touch the calf I think they could have watched for a lot longer.

P.S. 1st embedded vid - look at me the IT guru lol

I have been surfing since 1985....This is an example of what NOT to do....ever....bunch of kooks

They're lucky Humpbacks are that mellow & gentle overall, any other whale species, IMO, and there'd have been a bunch of injured/drowned dorks floating in the water.

These guys are the gentle giants of the deep, let's KEEP them that way by not messing with their kiddos, m'kay?

That was super cool, thanks for posting. Knowing that mama could swallow me in one try is enough to keep me away but her "gentle" way of moving them back was awesome. She could have drowned a bunch of them in a hurry.

originally posted by: HalWesten
That was super cool, thanks for posting. Knowing that mama could swallow me in one try is enough to keep me away but her "gentle" way of moving them back was awesome. She could have drowned a bunch of them in a hurry.

Oh yeah, they can easily drown someone just moving about, not even being aggressive. They're biiiiig critters.

They're also incredibly intelligent, it's been postulated that in their own way, they likely do understand we're very fragile compared to them & probably do act accordingly around us in the water (ask a question of a marine biologist, though they're not a cetologist, you get a blunt, honest answer, lol -- marine facility field trip tour in FL as a kid)

a reply to: johnb

Momma look at those mammals sitting on the water, what are they?

We'll go look, son, but only for a few minutes.

a reply to: Oathkeeper73

I've never surfed a day in my life and never would I have tried to get close to an sea animal that big. Maybe a sea turtle, but I'd rather watch them from a distance than invade their territory.

a reply to: LSU2018

Momma look at those other funny looking mammals sitting on the water, what are they?

fixed it for ya, i know sometimes it's easy to forget that air breathing ocean life are considered marine mammals

While growing up surfing I never saw a whale that close.

In SoCal we have millions of dolphins.

They will pull you around and they play rough.

Also, lots of juvenile sharks that love to bump into you.

One more thing. Those people surfing or whale watching.

There are way too many boards for surfing and no waves.

What is wrong with these people?

a reply to: Nyiah

I had a close call with some right whales. We are a big calving area for them. Would never get that close, or crowd it like that. That was not smart, but most the surfers I see out there today are part timers, and not real surfers, IMO. I grew up one block off the beach, on a small barrier island, so I treat the place differently than the O'villers (people from Orlando).

Dolphins are jerks though. I have been almost taken out by one while surfing at my local inlet breaks.

Had many close calls with sharks,and they can be scary depending on the species, but the most afraid I have ever been in the ocean was back as a teen when a manatee snuck up on me out at the third break, way outside, by myself. Scared the snip out of me. Just came and surfaced right next to me to get a breathe of air and check me out. I thought it was a whale coming up from underneath me. I still laugh about it.

a reply to: whyamIhere

Same here - plenty of dolphins, seals and sea lions but never a whale that close. Actually had a fun surf session with a sea lion who kept dropping in on us practically every wave for about an hour. You definitely never pursue them, let them come to you. Those are the experiences of a lifetime!
Oh, and I had one close encounter with a 6-7ft shark in Mexico too. Those you never forget!

Momma tried to lead the calf away a couple times in the video. You could feel the conversation "But Mooom, I wanna get closer to the weird little humans!"


Lovely creatures. I hope one day we have the tech to discover why they approach groups of humans like this for awhile. Simple curiousity? maybe momma was teaching the calf how to identify a human/land animal.

Watching the video, I see the surfers were being daft getting soo close to such an immense creature (protecting its young at that..double danger in nature), but tbh, if I was in the water, I no doubt would be in that group also watching the unique sight.

i've been surfing for 20 years and this is exactly what i would have done...

originally posted by: KnoxMSP
a reply to: Nyiah

I had a close call with some right whales. We are a big calving area for them. Would never get that close, or crowd it like that. That was not smart, but most the surfers I see out there today are part timers, and not real surfers, IMO. I grew up one block off the beach, on a small barrier island, so I treat the place differently than the O'villers (people from Orlando).

Dolphins are jerks though. I have been almost taken out by one while surfing at my local inlet breaks.

Had many close calls with sharks,and they can be scary depending on the species, but the most afraid I have ever been in the ocean was back as a teen when a manatee snuck up on me out at the third break, way outside, by myself. Scared the snip out of me. Just came and surfaced right next to me to get a breathe of air and check me out. I thought it was a whale coming up from underneath me. I still laugh about it.

Not that many people get that close to a mermaid and live to tell

Pretty cool!

originally posted by: underpass61
a reply to: whyamIhere

Same here - plenty of dolphins, seals and sea lions but never a whale that close. Actually had a fun surf session with a sea lion who kept dropping in on us practically every wave for about an hour. You definitely never pursue them, let them come to you. Those are the experiences of a lifetime!
Oh, and I had one close encounter with a 6-7ft shark in Mexico too. Those you never forget!

After a closer look it looks like they are on paddle boards.

All white makes me think those are rentals.

Probably renting for the whale watching.

originally posted by: johnb
If that one guy hadn't tried to touch the calf I think they could have watched for a lot longer.

There's always one arse who spoils it for others.

Whales are odd. They do imbibe a positive emotional response in people, except unless you are Japanese, Norwegian or Icelandic as they still partake in their killing.

a reply to: vonclod

Pretty amazing when I look back at it. My 15 year old self didn't think it was too cool. Also, been smacked in the face by a fish jumping, after telling my best friend, "What is a fish going to do?" in response to him telling me we should move down the beach due to all the jumping fish. He is deathly afraid of bait balls, probably rightly so.