If most people were asked if they’ve ever seen a whale in person, their answer would be no. However, a lucky few have had this honor, and it’s always an incredible experience. It requires a lot of luck and being in the right place at the right time.
A group of tourists in Quebec happened to be in the right place. And they ended up with an encounter that was almost too close for comfort.
The footage was uploaded to YouTube by Eric Mouellic.
Mouellic had just taken his first trip to Canada and decided to go for a whale-watching voyage in Tadoussac near Quebec. With his camera rolling, he and many other tourists definitely got some footage of whales breaching in the near distance.
Still, nobody on board expected to see a whale get particularly close to the boat.
Everyone was surprised when one of the whales headed right for the boat!
Flipped over on its back, the whale breached the water and went directly under the boat, allowing everyone a full view.
Each of these Blue Whales is typically about 18 meters long and can weigh about 50 tons! The whale was coming up to the surface to graze for krill, the small crustaceans that make up a major part of their diet.
While any tourist would love the chance to see a whale so close, the footage shows that this was actually a little bit terrifying for the people on the boat that day.
Fortunately, the whale turned back over onto its belly at the last second to avoid a collision with the boat.
It was an amazing moment, and we’re sure everyone on that boat will remember this sight forever. We’re also glad there really wasn’t a collision.
Many YouTube commenters loved the video. One wrote:
“Awesome capture! I would’ve LOVED to be witness to that!”
Mouellic’s incredible footage has spread across the Internet.
Above all, the clip is a reminder of how incredible nature can be—and how scary!
Blue Whales are some of the Earth’s most incredible and mysterious creatures, with only about 12,000 out there in the ocean.
For that reason, close encounters like these are incredibly rare and are worth celebrating.
If this makes you want to go whale watching, we don’t blame you!
Whales can use our help.
Many types of whales are on the endangered species list, and they could get hurt when they collide with big ships. If you’d like to help the whales, consider donating to the World Wildlife Fund, who helps track the movements of whales.
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