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Stunned kayakers get a friendly lift from a whale

“Don't mind me, I just live here.”

 

Miles Klee

Internet Culture

Posted on Jul 22, 2014   Updated on May 30, 2021, 10:09 pm CDT

Ah, the sea. Is there anything finer than taking your boat out in the brilliant sunshine, with a cool breeze at your back and gentle currents underneath the… OH GOD WHAT IS HAPPENING, THIS IS IT, WE’RE DEAD.

That’s about how I would have reacted to this brush with some humpback whales off the shore of Puerto Madryn, Argentina, anyway. These kayakers handled it with a bit more grace, considering a mere flick of the tail from one of these gentle-looking behemoths is enough to knock a human out cold.

Could it be that whales are cool with us so long as we don’t imprison their families in SeaWorld or swear vengeance against them? I’ll go out on a limb and say: sure.

Photo by Peter de Ruiter/Flickr (CC BY 2.0)

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*First Published: Jul 22, 2014, 5:36 pm CDT