Video footage captured Saturday in Mexico’s Sea of Cortez shows a breaching humpback whale landing on top of a small boat, damaging the vessel and injuring passengers.
The harrowing incident occurred in Topolobampo Bay in northwestern Sinaloa. Several vessels were crowded around the whale and their proximity to the leviathan appears to have created a dangerous situation.
Mexico News Daily reported that four passengers – two men and two women – were transported to a hospital in Los Mochis. At least one of the men, a former government employee in the municipality of Ahome, suffered serious injuries.
Muy bonito y todo pero también muy peligro… #Ballena #Topolobampo pic.twitter.com/tmSKQxiNPv
— 💫 Karem 💫 (@BrujitaMerak_) May 15, 2022
As viewers can see, the large whale leaps almost clear of the water before landing on the back half of the yacht, collapsing part of its roof and its railings.
The source of the video is unclear but a Twitter user named Karem, who is from Sinaloa, shared the accompanying video showing the collision, preceded by another video that shows two vessels dangerously close a breaching whale.
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Omar Mendoza Silva, coordinator of Civic Protection in Ahome, told Mexico News Daily that the whale might have felt harassed by the boaters.
Gerardo Vargas, mayor of Ahome, cautioned: “Please do not get too close to the whales. We can enjoy their beauty, but at a distance, prudently.”
Humpback whales are known for their spectacular breaching behavior. They can weigh up to 50 tons. It was not clear if the whale that landed on the boat was seriously injured.
