Video shows terrifying moment sea creature emerged in front of angler off Australia

Mark Price 

Tue, July 4, 2023 

Video screengrab

A whale with a sense of humor gave a professional fisherman a jump scare off Queensland, Australia, and video of the incident is equal parts terrifying and hilarious.

It happened about 5:30 p.m. June 27 to Sammy Hitzke, as he was out alone “having a relaxing troll” near Moreton Island.

The video, watched more than 80,000 times on social media, shows Hitzke was busy rigging bait when heard a splash and looked up to see something large and black emerge from the water just feet away.

It just as quickly disappeared back into the water — headed straight for him.

The boat then begins bouncing in the creature’s wake, and Hitzke is seen gripping the back of a seat, looking in all directions to see where it will pop up next.

Hitzke utters only two words in the 56-second video, the first being “holy.”

“So close I could almost smell its breath! Thankfully it wasn’t a grumpy one and it dived under the boat to continued on it’s way,” he wrote on Facebook. “For those wondering, yes the spare undies got put on shortly after!”

Hitzke noted in an Instagram post that the whale was “probably still laughing about it with his whale mates.”

The encounter definitely scared him, and Hitzke told McClatchy News he was worried the whale’s tail might slap the boat — or it would swim through his trolling lines. Either could have been dangerous.

He’s not sure of the whale’s species, but waters off Queensland are home to humpback whales, dwarf minke whales, orcas (killer whales) and southern right whales, experts say.

As for the size, Hitzke can only say “it was pretty bloody big.”

The video was shared June 29 on Facebook and Instagram, where it has gotten more than 2,300 reactions and comments. Most agreed it was a terrifying encounter.

“Bet that made you feel small,” Cynthia Kite Snook wrote.

“I like whales but not when they swim just under the boat,” Adam Hodges posted.