A humpback whale surfacing beside a research boat would be memorable enough on its own.
But footage shared to the r/NatureIsF***ingLit subreddit of one rising within inches of the vessel and seeming to lock its eyes onto an underwater camera filming it has turned a scientific outing into a jaw-dropping viral moment.
What happened?
Richard Sidey (@RichardSidey) filmed the clip while on a sanctioned research outing.
(If the video doesn't play, click here.)
The eye was truly the showstopper of the video, revealing a curiosity and gaze that was unmistakable. The whale also moved around a fair bit, so both eyes could get a look at the humans, the boat, and the camera.
Because the video was captured during scientific work, some commenters emphasized that in many encounters like this, the whale makes the final move toward the boat, not the other way around.
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Why does it matter?
Humpbacks are also a conservation success story.
By the 1960s, commercial whaling had reduced their population to about 10,000, but that figure has since risen to roughly 135,000. The rebound stems from human choices, including a commercial whaling ban and continued research.
At the same time, the video highlights the complicated ethics of wildlife encounters. Boats, engine noise, and repeated human contact can affect marine mammals even when no harm is intended.
Humans once drove this species toward collapse, and humans are now the ones studying and protecting the creatures.
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What are people saying?
A number of viewers were struck by the apparent curiosity in the whale's gaze.
"Their eyes always look so fake to me....like someone got some acrylic paint out and just painted it right on the spot the eye should be," one remarked.
"Looked like a 80s B movie monster," one user followed up.
Others took a crack at what the whale might be thinking during the encounter. One presumed the intelligent whale was perhaps doing its own research project.
Another viewer guessed its thought process: "Look at this little thing... What is it doing? Let me take a look with my other eye..."
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