AUG 22, 2016

Watch: Boaters and Kayakers Surprised by Breaching Humpback Whale

WRITTEN BY: Anthony Bouchard


Boaters and kayakers in the British Columbia were in for a surprise when a humpback whale was spotted breaching the surface of the water. This is essentially when the whale jumps from the water and then lands, making a huge splash.

Many times, whales do this just for fun, but it's believed that it may also be a form of communication, or a way to loosen up skin parasites that inevitably become stuck to the whale as it swims.

You can see two different camera angles of the show in this video. As you can see, the humpback whale breaches in an unpredictable manner, and this is why the boaters and kayakers are advised to stay away when the whale goes through this process.

Humpback whales are immense creatures, so even the 100-meter distance really isn't much when the whale can quickly and easily cover that amount of distance.