A transient killer whale is treating sailboats off Vancouver Island like toys.
Ara Stevenson captured some incredible video of an orca grabbing onto the anchor line of one boat and towing it around the Comox Marina on Sunday.
“He’s playing with the boat,” she can be heard saying off camera.
“That’s amazing,” a man replies. “He’s stealing the boat.”
And just when you think the sailboat is going to crash with another vessel, the whale drops the anchor and leaps out of the water.
“Whoa,” a child says in amazement. “That was cool.”
It really is.
Though, Stevenson later told the Comox Valley Record the boat didn’t escape unscathed.
“It did crash into it,” she said. “The big boat had thrown a dinghy in between the boats.”
By law in Canada, boaters have to stay at least 200 metres away from orcas.
Our #FisheryOfficers are patrolling in the #Comox area with @CoastGuardCAN. They’re speaking to boaters about our Marine Mammal regulations & the new laws requiring people to remain 200 m from #KillerWhales. For everyone’s safety, respect the 🐳’s space. https://t.co/Rb4ZnZp4Mo pic.twitter.com/8Bcj4vW7jz
— DFO Pacific (@DFO_Pacific) July 30, 2018
But some observers say people have been getting too close to this whale, known as T073B, and possibly stressing out the creature.
Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans has been keeping an eye on it since it arrived in the harbour from Alaska last week.
Orca seen taking hold of sailboat in Comox could be stressed, expert sayshttps://t.co/pYd12z6zNv
— CTV News VI (@CTVNewsVI) July 31, 2018
Main photo Ara Stevenson/Facebook
