Young Australian nearly killed by malicious humpback whale

17 posts / 0 new

Wed, 2011-06-29 07:11

sarahR

An Australian kid recently missed out on passing away barely while a maleficent whale hit his boat using its tale. The boy was quickly shoved unconscious. He was tossed from his vessel, but luckily was wearing a lifejacket, and didn't die. Luckily, he only was stricken with a damaged collar bone and a concussion. Article source - Miscreant humpback whale nearly kills Australian teen by Newsytype.com.

So-called gentle giant nearly pancakes Aussie teen

The incident took place Sunday, June 26, near Sydney, Australia, when the whale apparently flicked Hall's fishing vessel with its tail, states MSNBC. The whale leaped out of the water and hit its tale on the vessel while re-entering the water. The boy's mother saw this.

Drew Hall and his mother and father were fishing off the coast of New South Wales at Brooms Head, an oceanfront resort town several hundred miles northeast of Sydney. While fishing, the kid was "sent flying" by the whale. The Sydney Morning Herald reports that it was scary for everybody. He awoke on a boat ramp as paramedics administered care. Hall was treated for concussion and a broken collar bone. The incident wasn't enough to stop Hall. He's going to still go fishing along with his family at times.

Going north for winter

It is the migratory season for humpback whales, as Pacific humpbacks regularly travel along the coast of Australia while heading north for the summer. There have been more whale related incidents than just Drew Hall's. The Daily Telegraph reports that a 40-foot boat in Sydney Harbor was hit by a whale and sunk just two days before Hall's encounter. A dinghy was used by the vessel owner to get out. He was not able to float anymore with a huge hole in his boat. There were two whales seen right after. The Sydney Morning Herald states that several believe these whales were responsible.

Hazardous creatures

It is important to note that "gentle giants" for instance whales need protection. Still, they are dangerous to human beings most often. Even though every person survived, a whale sunk a sail boat in South Africa, which was shown in a viral video in 2010.

Whales are dangerous even if they have been in captivity. In 1971, the first Shamu mauled a SeaWorld staff member while an orca slaughtered SeaWorld trainer Dawn Brancheau last year.

Whale observing aboard smaller vessels isn't advisable, as they can be easily capsized. In Herman Melville's "Moby Dick," it is all about a whale. An actual story of sperm whales sinking a ship was the inspiration. A sperm whale rammed a ship called Essex in 1820. It was off the coast of South The United States and sank.

Information from

MSNBC

msnbc.msn.com/id/43544562/ns/world_news-asia_pacific/

Sydney Morning Herald on Drew Hall

smh.com.au/environment/whale-watch/knocked-out-drew-vows-to-keep-having-a-whale-of-a-time-20110627-1gmo5.html

Sydney Morning Herald on Sydney Harbor capsizing

smh.com.au/nsw/man-missing-after-boat-hits-buoy-20110625-1gkky.html

The Daily Telegraph

dailytelegraph.com.au/news/boat-sinks-after-whale-collision-man-escapes-in-dinghy/story-e6freuy9-1226081337992

List of Orca attacks on Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orca_attacks_on_humans

Right whale Wiki

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Right_whale

For more on the whaling ship Essex, see "In the Heart of the Sea" by Nathaniel Philbrick.

Wed, 2011-06-29 08:52

notaradical

Misinformation knows no bounds. This reminds me of the "michievous" raccoons story a few weeks ago in Toronto, where a man beat a baby raccoon to a bloody pulp because it was foraging in his vegetable garden. When did we get so high and mighty?

This is another awesome video that tries to assign identities of the "despicable" shark and "noble" orca. I have no idea how the scriptwriter got away with that one.

Wed, 2011-06-29 08:58

MegB

And your point would be .... um ... that an endangered species is running rampant in its habitat? That such a whale is a serial killer of humans?

"Don't be fooled Billy, those cows would eat you given a chance."

The Simpsons, Classroom propoganda movie promoting eating meat. One of the best episodes EVER.

I'm leaving this thread as is, because I'm looking forward to babblers ripping it apart.

Wed, 2011-06-29 09:29

notaradical

Rebecca West wrote:

And your point would be .... um ... that an endangered species is running rampant in its habitat? That such a whale is a serial killer of humans?

"Don't be fooled Billy, those cows would eat you given a chance."

The Simpsons, Classroom propoganda movie promoting eating meat. One of the best episodes EVER.

I'm leaving this thread as is, because I'm looking forward to babblers ripping it apart.

Hmmm I don't know. Seems like jest to me. Judging by the thread title (and I know a thing or two about thread titles...), sarahR is satirizing the colourful use of personification to describe our furry friends.

Wed, 2011-06-29 09:53

remind

Well, I have an additional story to add to this thread.

Quote:
A woman was seriously hurt Monday after being attacked by an aggressive deer in her own yard in southeast B.C., police say.
The woman was taking her dogs out when a deer came onto her property and stomped her, Kimberley RCMP Cpl. Todd Preston said...She was cut, there was blood everywhere, her clothes were ripped to shreds," he said. "I could see gashes [25 centimetres] long and where she wasn't cut she was purple.

Apparently the people of Kimberly are not very happy with their urban deer, and are having to walk with sticks and bats to fend them off. And a new word usage has come out of the incidences. "Hooved"as a verb.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-JgtT9uKWdA

Wed, 2011-06-29 10:00

oldgoat

Akshully, I closed this person's account a short time ago for spamming with payday loan ads. I suspect that's what was intended here but she realized you can't edit the OP.

Slightly related to topic, a number of years ago Ms oldgoat and I were on a medium sized craft off Cape Cod on a whale watch. About 4 humpbacks, including a calf were playing and breaching right around us, passing back and forth under the boat and shooting up in the air close enough to splash us. Quite spectacular.

Wed, 2011-06-29 12:53

Northern Shoveler Northern Shoveler's picture

remind wrote:

Well, I have an additional story to add to this thread.

Apparently the people of Kimberly are not very happy with their urban deer, and are having to walk with sticks and bats to fend them off. And a new word usage has come out of the incidences. "Hooved"as a verb.

The video of the dog being attacked is quite something. I will note that the dog did not appear to be in an off leash area but running loose on a public street. In Burnaby I have often run into some very large and mean looking raccons who live here too. Lake Louise is overrun with elk and in rutting season its stay back and keep your pets leashed.

Wed, 2011-06-29 23:45

notaradical

A dark day indeed for Mother Nature when her obedient children have been labelled malevolent.

Thu, 2011-06-30 03:41

bagkitty

Rebecca West wrote:

"Don't be fooled Billy, those cows would eat you given a chance."

Frankly I am much more worried about the danger posed by seals. Given the toxic mixture of mutagens flowing out of the industrial heartland of both America and Central Canada into the cloaca that is the St. Lawrence, I heartily approve of the tradition practiced by those at the mouth of the Gulf of St Lawrence of clubbing the seals before they mutate and develop opposable digits and, hence, the ability to come ashore and do the same to local bipeds. Seal hunters of Newfoundland and Labrador, I salute you.

Thu, 2011-06-30 10:31

#10

Caissa

You been reading Dawkins again, Bagkitty?

Fri, 2011-07-01 20:33

#11

B9sus4

Whales, elephants, gorillas. I ignorantly and self-righteously support savage capital punishment for all those who hurt those animals. I also support savage capital punishment for those who harm children.. but that's another issue. Greenpeace is to me on a plane with, say, Mother Theresa, maybe the Lama, maybe Jesus, I don't know. Something good. Or at least something more good than bad.

It may well be that bulls support savage capital punishment for those who hurt bovines. Snakes aren't too crazy about humans either.

I don't have any logical take on this whatsoever. Maybe I'm a cultural throwback to my animist forebears. But I don't hunt. My rural parents hunted for food and were very good at it. My mother was a better shot than almost any man I know. But my parents came to the big city because of WW2. Then they said "what do we need guns for? There's a supermarket next door, for gosh sake." In those days men fought with their fists. Only crazy people used guns on other humans. Even knives were despised. No one had knives when I was young, but every man learned how to fistfight. It was expected of one. But not guns though. Nor such as clubs either. No weapons of any kind. That was chickenshit. Unmanly.

I talk to birds. I talks to cats. I talk to other people's little doggies (I don't have dogs any more. Personally I don't think I want to raise dogs in the city.) Do the animals answer back? Sure. The birds say cheap (and variants thereof). Cats make hundreds of different sounds. Raven croak at me as I walk to work in the morning and communicate up and down their territory that a human is afoot. What they are saying is "You aren't going to hurt me are you?" And my answer is always "Hell no. I don't eat birds. Or cats. Or dogs. Or whatever that's alive."

Of course I'm a damnable hypocrite. I shop at the supermarket. I have many obvious failings.

But in this case, as reported above, I side with the whales. Go whales go! Power to the whales! A curse on those who eat whales. Especially those who kill whales for dog food!!!!!!!!!!!

Sat, 2011-07-02 16:52

#12

jas

Strange post. It's got all the markings of a marketing spam (OP is a non-sequitur; topic unrelated to progressive concerns; poor grammar and spelling; poster is new and posts only a single non-sequitur thread with a bunch of links then disappears) but I don't see what the sell is.