Typically, when one sees a whale in the ocean, one expects it to keep their distance. As someone who has been fortunate enough to have been on a whale watching excursion, I can tell you that just seeing them pop out of the water for a moment was magical. Imagine then, the utter surprise you would feel if one came up and showed you its belly. That is exactly what happened to one individual while out at sea. Watch as this tourist captures an insane video of a whale begging for a belly rub.
Videos by Outdoors
Whale Begging For A Belly Rub Is The Best Thing Ever
This video is so cool. For starters, the grey whale that approached the boaters was very large, and the boat they were sitting in appeared very small. Besides that fact, and the initial shock of seeing a giant whale approach you, I think the tourists handled the situation gracefully.
The video begins with the whale swimming slowly over to the boat. One of the individuals in the boat reached out their hand to touch the whale. This slight touch prompted the giant sea creature to then roll over and expose its stomach like a dog. There is only one real cause for it: this whale was begging for a belly rub.
Luckily for this grey whale, the boaters obliged. They gently placed their hands on the whale’s stomach and began to rub it. After a few scratches, the whale half rolled again, this time exposing its side. Then, it opened its massive eye and stared right at the boaters before opening its mouth and showing off its amazing smile. What an incredible sight to behold.
The Internet Reacts
These tourists chose to share their insane interaction and the footage of it on Reddit. Therefore, you know the internet had to respond. Most people shared similar thoughts regarding the whale’s behavior, and it had nothing to do with the whale wanting a belly rub.
Instead, many people argued that the whale was asking for help scraping barnacles and parasites off its skin. Here are some of the comments that were left underneath the video.
- “I saw a video that said sometimes they do this, hoping people will scrape the barnacles off them.”
- “That was my guess too, the rolling over so they can get different spots and opening the mouth so they can clean inside is pretty common in symbiotic grooming.”
