Man Captures Stunning Whale Footage After Accidentally Dropping His Camera Off the Dock

A homeowner accidentally captured incredible underwater footage of a humpback whale feeding on a bait ball right outside his dock — all because he dropped his camera into the water.

Cinematographer Peter Mieras was testing his new 360° underwater camera when it slipped from his hands and fell into the waters of Barkley Sound on Vancouver Island, British Columbia. He was about to dive in after it when he suddenly spotted a humpback whale surfacing right beside his dock. Hoping the camera might pick up something remarkable, he held off on retrieving it. When he finally pulled it from the water, he was stunned: the camera had captured a humpback whale — along with several sea lions — hunting a swirling bait ball of small fish.

Mieras called the footage “dumb luck,” but said it was unlike anything he and his partner had seen in their two decades living there. The video quickly went viral around the world.

And then, almost exactly a year later, from that very same dock, Mieras captured footage of another humpback feeding — though this time the moment was less majestic and more “Benny Hill.”

He shared the new video on Facebook and introduced it: “Totally bizarre encounter at the dock. Humpback whale swimming past boats and breakwater multiple times almost touching boats and dock. Rubbing against breakwater. Stuck my arm in the water holding small action cam to see what I could get. The whole thing was like a Benny Hill scene. Not sped up.” (You can watch the full video here.)

After his partner, Kathy Johnson, alerted him that she’d spotted a whale, he dashed down to the dock with his camera, running back and forth trying to capture the moment. The couple couldn’t help but laugh at the chaotic scene and joked that they’re already looking forward to next year’s visit.

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