Ferry services and boat traffic in Sydney Harbour experienced “navigation problems” on Tuesday after a “curious” humpback whale strayed from its usual migration path, reports The Guardian. Video footage shows the whale swimming undisturbed in the heart of the Australian port.
The young mammal was first spotted by commuters on a harbour ferry service near Fort Denison around 8:00 AM. It subsequently swam to Circular Quay – Sydney’s central ferry terminal – before moving east towards Garden Island, then on to Watsons Bay, and north towards Balmoral Bay. By late afternoon, the whale looped west again, returning to Rose Bay in eastern Sydney.
“It’s not every day a whale diverts and stops at Watsons Bay,” commented whale expert Vanessa Pirotta, observing from a New South Wales Maritime vessel tracking the cetacean. “NSW Maritime and NSW National Parks and Wildlife are literally escorting a mammal the size of a school bus out of the harbour,” Pirotta added. “We’re making sure it has space and is escorted out of the harbour because this one is very curious.”
State transport provider Transport for NSW stated the whale caused only minimal delays around 9:00 AM. While ferry services experienced no afternoon disruptions, the agency confirmed it was “keeping an eye” on the whale’s movements.