'At the mercy of this whale': B.C. couple had dinghy lifted by humpback during hours-long encounter
A Vancouver couple was in awe and a bit scared during an hours-long encounter with a whale on B.C.'s Central Coast.
Evan Lee-Dodek and Sofia Carroll said they were fishing in Toba Inlet Friday when they saw a humpback whale.
The whale was about 100 metres away, they told CTV News in an interview Monday, but they still turned off the engine of their dinghy to avoid disturbing the giant.
The whale headed their way, they said, swimming under their dinghy and sticking close by for about two hours.
They were scared but couldn't leave, because they didn't want to put the motor down when the whale was so close.
At one point, the whale actually lifted their boat and swam with it. While they were amazed, they were also worried the humpback might puncture the boat's hull.
"Once it also got used to us, it started slapping the boat around and being more playful, and that's kind of when it got more scary," Carroll said, describing the "rollercoaster of emotions" they went through during those hours.
"What was more nerve-wracking was when it would slap the boat with its fins. We're in a dingy. It's inflated around the outside and (the whale has) these huge barnacles on its fins and it's hitting the boat. I was pretty stressed out," Lee-Dodek said.
"Here we are so far away from anything in a really deep fjord, so vulnerable, just at the mercy of this whale."
The whale did do some damage, albeit minor, to the underside of the boat.
The couple said it was a small price to pay for the experience.
Humpback whales have been making a comeback in recent years in B.C. waters after being hunted to near-extinction in the early 1900s.
According to Jackie Hildering, the whales in the video are known to the Marine Education & Research Society.
“There are two humpback whales shown in this encounter: KC, who I nicknamed when he was a first year with his mother, Houdini, in 2002, and Eros, who is a whale newly documented this year," Hildering said in an email to CTV News. "Eros is the whale who is closest to the boat.”
MERS describes the behaviour seen in the video, and the possible reasoning for it, in a blog post on its website from 2018. The post also explains concerns related to human behaviour in these situations.
The group reminded the public that touching a whale is an illegal act under the federal Marine Mammal Regulation, and said that its hope is the video doesn't encourage others to try to do the same thing.
Fisheries and Oceans Canada outlines laws and regulations on its website, and offers guidance for what to do to avoid disturbing marine mammals.
With an interview from CTV News Vancouver's Cameron Mitchell
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
Half of Canadians have negative opinion of latest Liberal budget: poll
A new poll suggests the Liberals have not won over voters with their latest budget, though there is broad support for their plan to build millions of homes.
opinion Why you should protect your investments by naming a trusted contact person
Appointing a trusted person to help with financial obligations can give you peace of mind. In his personal finance column for CTVNews.ca, Christopher Liew outlines the key benefits of naming a confidant to take over your financial responsibilities, if the need ever arises.
Teacher shortages see some Ontario high school students awarded perfect grades on midterm exams
Students at a high school in York Region have been awarded perfect marks on their midterm exams in three subjects – not because of their academic performances however, but because they had no teacher.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
Doctors combine a pig kidney transplant and a heart device in a bid to extend woman's life
Doctors have transplanted a pig kidney into a New Jersey woman who was near death, part of a dramatic pair of surgeries that also stabilized her failing heart.
Photographer alleges he was forced to watch Megan Thee Stallion have sex and was unfairly fired
A photographer who worked for Megan Thee Stallion said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that he was forced to watch her have sex, was unfairly fired soon after and was abused as her employee.
Ottawa injects another $36M into vaccine injury compensation fund
The federal government has added $36.4 million to a program designed to support people who have been seriously injured or killed by vaccines since the end of 2020.
An Ontario senior thought he called Geek Squad for help with his printer. Instead, he got scammed out of $25,000
An Ontario senior’s attempt to get technical help online led him into a spoofing scam where he lost $25,000. Now, he’s sharing his story to warn others.