Incredible moment a rare humpback whale comes close...is missed by man on his phone
"Hey dude! Stop texting. There's an enormous humpback whale two feet from your boat!"
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A man has missed a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see a breaching humpback whale up-close, because he was too busy on his mobile phone.
Whilst sailing off the coast of California, the oblivious man came within feet of the incredible spectacle but somehow managed to not notice.
However, photographer Eric Smith, from Los Angeles, managed to capture the rare moment that the animal surfaced. Noticing that the unidentified man remained unaware of the sight before him, Smith photographed the man staring at his phone as the whale swam along beside his boat.
Smith uploaded the photograph to social network Instagram, commenting "a sign of the times" and "Hey dude! Stop texting. There's an enormous humpback whale two feet from your boat!" Smith says he took five photos of the man who continued to stare at his screen throughout the entire encounter.
Speaking to CBS News, Eric Smith said, “a small private sailboat manoeuvred really close to the whales, and this guy on it was literally sitting in that position and never moved.
"He could have been texting his mum in the hospital for all I know, but I thought it sucked that he missed such a wonderful moment happening just two feet in front of him.
"We're all guilty being buried in our phones, even me. You think life is better on your phone, but we’re missing what’s happening around us."
The whale can grow to be between 39 and 52 feet and weigh 36,000 kilograms, and whale watching is worth around $2.1 billion worldwide.
Image credit: Eric J. Smith
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments