Talk about an up-close encounter.
A group of kayakers making their way around B.C.'s Discovery Islands ran into a humpback whale nursing her calf last week.
Then the pair — along with some more humpbacks — started putting on a show.
The whales breached several times near the group, and a few boaters caught it all on camera. Wildcoast Adventures, the company leading the outing, later compiled the footage into a video. (Watch above.)
"John doesn't need a bathroom break anymore," one kayaker can be heard saying.
Ahoy, whale.
Valerie Stapinsky, who works with Wildcoast, told HuffPost Canada the encounter was a rare one.
The mammals were widely hunted in B.C. waters until 1967, when commercial whaling was banned. The population of humpbacks has seen an "amazing" recovery since then, Stapinsky said.
To help protect the animals in B.C., people are advised to stay stay at least 100 metres away from marine animals or birds. If boaters — or in this case, kayakers — find themselves stuck too close to an animal, they're advised to stay still and let the animals pass.
Also on HuffPost
