Woman on whale-watching trip calls police on a group of whales
Social media users have been left scratching their heads after a woman out on a whale-watching trip with her family called the police on a group of whales.
Darren Lucciana took his family for a boat ride on Washington’s Puget Sound — a popular spot for whale watching — when three humpback whales swam up to their boat.
In a video shot by a family member, Lucciana assures his panicked family, “All right, we’re all right, calm down”, but his words did little to comfort the woman hyperventilating in the background.
“Oh my God, it’s going right under us, you guys!” one woman yells while another is heard sobbing.
“Relax, he’s checking us out … they’re not going to hurt you. Just relax, he’s right under us,” Lucciana says.
“Look at this, you guys, you’ll never see this again.”
“Let’s get out of here,” a woman says.
Another declares: “I’m calling 911.”
Mr Lucianna tells his family the “intelligent” mammal is simply curious and will swim away soon.
“Look at that — he’s rolling,” he exclaims excitedly.
“Oh my God, this is amazing — you guys, there’s another one right behind him.”
But some of his family members are not so impressed.
“I’m out at Puget Sound and there are three gray whales right underneath our boat, and I’m afraid that we might get flipped over,” a woman is heard saying into the phone.
“I’m really scared.”
As the boat begins pulling away and the whales start diving, Mr Lucianna breathes, saying, “That was amazing.”
A family member then cries: “Stupid whales. They’re going to kill us.”
A woman makes a second call to 911, explaining the family has been “quietly watching them for about an hour and they’re underneath our boat right now — all three of them — and it’s really scary”.
“I’m just afraid that if we get tipped over that somebody needs to know where we are,” she said.
The woman also provides the family’s GPS coordinates.
“The worst thing that can happen is that we go for a swim, dude,” the dad protests, adding, “You will never forget that.”
'Family Calls Cops on Whales'
Yup, you read that right.
1. You DO NOT reengage the motor when whales are less than 100 feet from your vessel!
2. You are in THEIR home.
3. What were the police were going to do other than have a good laugh?https://t.co/PcSCdadokT— DolphinFreeAZ (@DolphinFreeAZ) October 9, 2018
Aside from calling the family “obnoxious” and “ridiculous”, social media commenters noted the panicked response was like the recurrent 911 calls on people of colour.
Bemused social media users struggled to comprehend that the audio matched the vision, slamming the “obnoxious” family members for not embracing the incredible moment.
Mr Lucianna did not return Yahoo Lifestyle’s request for comment.
The awestruck dad commented on his Facebook post, writing: “Never forget this experience. So glad my boys could witness it.”