Bewildered seal found itself in the mouth of a humpback whale

SEATTLE (AP) — It’s factor seals aren’t on a humpback whale’s menu.

{A photograph} by a whale-watching naturalist captured a seemingly bewildered seal within the mouth of a humpback whale after the large marine mammal by accident gulped it final Thursday within the waters off Anacortes, Washington.

The meals mix-up started whereas a Blue Kingdom Whale and Wildfire Excursions boat noticed birds flying over a college of fish and a humpback whale swimming towards it, Captain Tyler McKeen stated. He stated the humpback then used a lunging feeding approach, the place the whale opens its mouth broad and takes in small fish and water. However as an alternative of remaining underwater afterward to filter by way of its baleen, it surfaced and started opening and shutting its mouth.

After the whale went again underwater, pictures and movies had been checked by whale watchers.

“It solely took a pair seconds for everyone to drag up the frames and zoom in,” McKeen stated. “That’s after we noticed the seal. It was a humorous, humorous second for everyone. I imply, it in all probability wasn’t that humorous for the seal.”

{A photograph} by Brooke Casanova exhibits the seal, which presumably was additionally searching the fish, rising from the underside of the whale’s mouth. McKeen recorded a cellphone video the place the seal is getting flushed out.

“I’m guessing that this example in all probability occurs each every now and then simply because there’s a lot of different stuff that eat these fish too,” McKeen stated.

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 over the past 25 years, their numbers have recovered and are actually routinely seen in whale-watching excursions, McKeen stated.

He added the whale that by accident gulped the seal is named “Huge Mama” as a result of she has been seen with seven totally different calves through the years.