A southern right whale swam close to kayakers near Hobart, Tasmania, on Wednesday, November 22.
According to the ABC, the whale’s appearance in the water at Kingston Beach attracted a large crowd of onlookers, with some concerned for its welfare.
The Mercury reported that a warning was issued by the Marine Conservation Program after the whale was first sighted at about 7:30am, urging people not to get too close to the animal.
“I’ll say upfront that I was on a kayak and I paddled to less than 100 metres,” Michael Boon, who recorded this footage, said in a Facebook post. “Maybe we were lucky in this case, but this whale didn’t seem bothered. It swam to us and to the swimmers. On a couple of occasions it stopped by us and just lay there, presumably having a good look at us.” Credit: Facebook/Michael Boon via Storyful
