The impressive encounter between whales and swimmers in Argentina
2 min read
- Analia Llorente
- BBC News World
attributed to him, @maxijonas/BBC
Maximiliano Jonas scored the match by chance
Analia Giorgetti was rowing aboard in southern Argentina when she was recorded for an encounter she described as a “magical moment”.
Every year, groups of southern right whales visit the Valdes Peninsula to mate.
On one of these visits, Giorgetti was touched by her in the middle of the sea.
“They were submerged in water, and they started to approach with curiosity,” Giorgetti told the BBC.
“And someone touched me. I told my friend, ‘The whale touched me.'” Then we saw that a drone had filmed everything.”
attributed to him, @maxijonas/BBC
Species visit the Valdes Peninsula to mate
The device is owned by Maximiliano Jonas, a 43-year-old photographer who lives in Puerto Madryn, also in the south of the country.
“On that day, the sea looked like a mirror, the tide was high and there were many whales near the shore, about 50,” he told BBC Mundo.
So he took his plane and went to photograph the whales from above.
“I know whales are friendly, but I’ve never seen an interaction like this before,” says the photographer. His pictures spread on social media.
attributed to him, @maxijonas/BBC
The photographer said he was moved to see the scene
Date
The swimmer says that the whale began to approach and gently patted one of its fins on the board.
attributed to him, Maximilian Jonas
Maximiliano Jonas lives in Patagonia
“As I got close, I put the racket on top of my board and stood motionless, waiting to see how close she was,” Giorgetti explains.
“I think she was playing like a dog looking for you to play with. But in this case, it’s a much bigger animal,” Jonas Shpke wrote. “I saw the gesture and I saw it in slow motion. I couldn’t believe it.”
He describes: “When a whale touches it, it turns around and looks at the reaction of the person who touches it.”
“I was watching and I said, ‘It’s a connection. My eyes filled with tears. I kept looking and thinking about the person there. In this person’s experience, how envious he is,'” he says.
“I put pictures of that moment on my social networks and my daughter (Giorgetti) wrote on Instagram and said, ‘This is my mom,'” says the photographer. She’s celebrating her birthday.”
“It was a great birthday present,” says Giorgetti.
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