Swimmers and surfboard riders at Manly Beach in Sydney, Australia got a little too close for comfort Sunday when they were splashed by a mother whale as she swam with her calf.
In drone video, surfers and swimmers can be seen approaching what marine experts say was a southern right whale and her calf, when the mother takes a swipe at the group with her tail before swimming away with her offspring.
Local reports indicate no one was hurt but other swimmers were not so lucky in a similar incident Saturday. Australian media report two women were injured one seriously, after they approached a humpback whale on Ningaloo Reef, off Australia’s northwest coast.
Australia’s Nine Network Television reported in that incident, one woman was struck by the tail and sustained fractured ribs and internal bleeding, and a second swimmer was struck by the same whale’s pectoral fin. Both were reportedly hospitalized.
Western Australia state government licenses tour operators and sets conditions, including keeping swimmers a safe distance from whales they observe.
The government’s Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions said it was working closely with the industry and the tour operator involved to understand how the incident occurred.
Aerial drone video of the incident shows a group of snorkelers and people on surf boards approaching the 15-meter mother whale and her calf at Ningaloo Reef near the town of Exmouth off the northwest coast of Australia.
The group apparently got too close, because the mother can be seen swinging her tale at the group.
Australia’s 29-year-old woman was struck by the tail and sustained fractured ribs and internal bleeding.
She and was flown to a Perth hospital on Sunday and remained in a serious but stable condition, the WAtoday website reported.
The second swimmer was struck by the same whale’s pectoral fin, which tore the swimmer's hamstring, Australia's Nine Network television reported.
The Western Australian state government licenses tour operators and sets conditions including keeping swimmers a safe distance from whales that they observe.
