Uploaded August 2017 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
The Chronicle understands the footage was taken at a marina in California.
Facebook page Fishing Southeast Qld shared the video, which has clocked up millions of views in a matter of hours, writing that the footage was shot in Hervey Bay.
"Amazing footage from Hervey Bay Marina this morning," the caption said.
Hervey Bay Marine Rescue vice commodore Jill Barclay admitted the video resembled our shoreline and understood why there was a case of wrong identity.
"I was trying to recognise the boats and surroundings, but none of it looked familiar," Ms Barclay said.
"There have been no reports of whales swimming into the marina like that.
"But it's a pretty cool piece of footage."
In her four years with the rescue group, Ms Barclay said she has seen whales swim close to the marina but never inside.
Humpback whales, scientifically known as Megaptera novaeangliae, are found in all of the world’s oceans and can grow up to 15 meters long and weigh 30 tonnes (that’s about 50 feet and 6,600 pounds). The species belongs to a group called rorquals. The largest whales are almost all rorquals, including ones even bigger than the humpback (such as the blue whale, the largest species to ever roam the earth).
You might think an animal so big needs to eat large prey - but humpback whales don’t even have teeth! Instead of teeth, its mouth is full of baleen, just like other rorquals. Baleen is made of keratin, the same material as your hair and nails. The whale uses it to feed on very tiny prey animals, such as krill or herring. The baleen acts like a filter. The humpback takes a huge mouthful of seawater, then it squeezes the water out, while all the edible things are stuck inside.
Humpbacks are known to feed cooperatively as part of a groups. They swim in a circular formation below a school of fish. By strategically releasing bubbles from their blowholes, the team of humpbacks creates a “bubble net.” The fish see it as a barrier so they don’t swim through, and they become trapped. Then, the whales lunge into the circle with their mouths wide open, efficiently capturing their meal.
The Chronicle understands the footage was taken at a marina in California.
Facebook page Fishing Southeast Qld shared the video, which has clocked up millions of views in a matter of hours, writing that the footage was shot in Hervey Bay.
"Amazing footage from Hervey Bay Marina this morning," the caption said.
Hervey Bay Marine Rescue vice commodore Jill Barclay admitted the video resembled our shoreline and understood why there was a case of wrong identity.
"I was trying to recognise the boats and surroundings, but none of it looked familiar," Ms Barclay said.
"There have been no reports of whales swimming into the marina like that.
"But it's a pretty cool piece of footage."
In her four years with the rescue group, Ms Barclay said she has seen whales swim close to the marina but never inside.
Humpback whales, scientifically known as Megaptera novaeangliae, are found in all of the world’s oceans and can grow up to 15 meters long and weigh 30 tonnes (that’s about 50 feet and 6,600 pounds). The species belongs to a group called rorquals. The largest whales are almost all rorquals, including ones even bigger than the humpback (such as the blue whale, the largest species to ever roam the earth).
You might think an animal so big needs to eat large prey - but humpback whales don’t even have teeth! Instead of teeth, its mouth is full of baleen, just like other rorquals. Baleen is made of keratin, the same material as your hair and nails. The whale uses it to feed on very tiny prey animals, such as krill or herring. The baleen acts like a filter. The humpback takes a huge mouthful of seawater, then it squeezes the water out, while all the edible things are stuck inside.
Humpbacks are known to feed cooperatively as part of a groups. They swim in a circular formation below a school of fish. By strategically releasing bubbles from their blowholes, the team of humpbacks creates a “bubble net.” The fish see it as a barrier so they don’t swim through, and they become trapped. Then, the whales lunge into the circle with their mouths wide open, efficiently capturing their meal.
