A drone pilot was able to capture the footage of a rather unique encounter which took place over the weekend, where a humpback whale followed a kayaker off Bondi Beach in Australia for a couple of minutes. The video, as per local media reports, was shot in the morning when the whale swam alongside a kayaker who was out for a morning paddle.

The video posted by Dronesharkapp has garnered over 40,000 likes on Instagram since it was posted two days ago. It shows the whale following the kayaker and even swimming alongside them near Bondi Beach for several minutes before they part ways. 

“Wowsers. This just happened at #bondi. This #humpbackwhale was super curious and followed this kayaker in all the way from Tamarama,” read the caption of the video.

‘Best day of their life’: People react

Several people reacted to the encounter with one user calling it “Wow…best day of their life.” While another user said, “They look like they’re on a stroll together.” 

Some users even raised concerns about the whale being in such shallow waters. “Is it worrying that whalie is so close or in such shallow waters?” wrote a user. However, the account which posted the video assured them that it happens “quite a bit”. 

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Whales’ annual migration

As per local media reports, hundreds of marine mammals have been spotted off the coast in Sydney this month given their annual migration north from Antarctic waters to the Great Barrier Reef. Notably, the researchers have been stunned by the large number of humpbacks observed this season. 

A wildlife scientist and whale expert at Australia’s Macquarie University, Vanessa Pirotta, said that there could be a number of factors contributing to the increased number of whales on the country’s coasts this season. 

She also said that they are not 100 per cent sure what is driving this increase in whale numbers but said that their “population is recovering” and maybe there are favourable conditions in Antarctica this year.

Pirotta also said that it might be because of the El Nino weather pattern with warmer conditions there are more people on the beach and seeing more whales, adding that “It’s hard to say.”  

This year around, up to 50,000 whales are expected to pass Australia’s east coast during their annual migration season. Additionally, given the rise in the number of humpback whales the country removed them from their threatened species list, last year.

Nishtha Badgamia at WION News

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