WATCH the rare moment a massive whale playfully nudges a woman’s paddleboard.
In a mesmerizing video captured by a drone pilot, a huge 50ft whale can be seen “playing” with a paddleboarder.
The unique scene took place near Puerto Madryn, Argentina, Daily Mail reports. The large Southern Right whale is captured as it bumps the paddleboard and dives underneath it.
A southern right whale has been caught on camera seemingly playing with a woman on a paddleboard off the coast of Argentina 🐋 pic.twitter.com/xiyX0lKvmd
— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) September 6, 2021
Oscar Comes, a local water sports businessman who witnessed the unusual whale-human encounter, said:
“They are rare moments, it is something that is prohibited. It isn’t like you can go in a kayak, standup board, a boat, or whatever, to look for the animal.”
Southern Right whales are currently making their annual migration off the Patagonian coast.
The process attracts many tourists who want to observe these fascinating sea creatures, from a safe distance, of course.
According to Marcos Grosso, Puerto Madryn’s tourism secretary, there are about 1,600 Southern Right whales in the area. Moreover, whale watching season usually begins in May and ends in December.
#Durban..
Southern Right Whale mom and newbie enjoying the swell off Baggies beach (Warner Beach) yesterday…
©StuartQueripel… #ProtectOurOceans… pic.twitter.com/izIcQPmPv9— Desiree_Laverne (@Desiree_Laverne) September 13, 2021
These magnificent animals can grow up to 56 feet (17m) long for a fully-developed female or 49 feet (15m) for a male. They can reach up to 198,000lbs (90,000kg; 90 tonnes) in weight.
The species can be found all over the southern hemisphere of the Earth, as the whales migrate every year to warmer waters to breed, often off the coast of South America, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand.
