SEATTLE — Good factor seals aren’t on the humpback whale’s menu.
A photograph by a whale-watching naturalist captured a seemingly confused seal within the humpback whale’s mouth after the large marine mammal by chance swallowed it final Thursday in waters off Anacortes, Washington.
The meals confusion started when a Blue Kingdom Whale and Wildlife Excursions boat noticed birds flying over a college of fish and a humpback whale swimming towards it, Capt. Tyler McKean mentioned.
He mentioned the humpback then used a feeding approach the place the whale opens its mouth vast and takes in small fish and water.
However as a substitute of staying underwater after that to filter by way of its baleen, it surfaced and began opening and shutting its mouth.
After the whale returned underwater, the images and movies had been checked by whale watchers.
“It solely took just a few seconds for everybody to drag the frames and zoom in,” McKean mentioned. “Then we noticed the seal. It was a humorous, humorous second for everybody. I imply, it in all probability wasn’t that humorous for the seal.
A photograph by Brooke Casanova reveals the seal, which was in all probability additionally searching the fish, rising from the underside of the whale’s mouth.
McKeen recorded a cellphone video of the seal being flushed.
“I assume this case in all probability occurs once in a while just because there are lots of different issues which are additionally consuming these fish,” McKean mentioned.
Humpback whales go to the Salish Sea, the inland waters between British Columbia and Washington state, throughout their migrations.
Humpback whales had been hunted to native extinction in these waters, however previously 25 years their numbers have recovered and at the moment are frequently seen on whale-watching excursions, McKean mentioned.
He added that the whale that by chance swallowed the seal was often known as “Zillion”.
