David Ho

They did that “person collided with car and died” thing, but in the ocean.

No, the whale didn’t collide with a boat. A person driving a boat hit a whale and killed it.

https://apnews.com/article/whale-death-new-jersey-a80fc94f6974a295d7f5d43b01844fe0

Whale dies after collision with small boat off New Jersey shore

A minke whale has died off the New Jersey shore after colliding with a small boat. The incident occurred Saturday in Barnegat Bay and the impact nearly tipped the boat and threw a person overboard. Video shows the whale splashing near the craft before swimming away. The whale was later found dead on a sandbar in shallow water. The Marine Mammal Stranding Center said authorities couldn't approach due to tidal conditions. A necropsy is planned for Monday.

AP News
Aug 4, 2025 at 7:37amWeb
Show threadC.Suthorn Aug 4, 2025
@[email protected]
Show threadFace ThumbAug 4, 2025
@davidho "It shouldn't have been swimming in the ocean. It shouldn't have been wearing dark colours. It should have been wearing a helmet."
Show thread❄️SnowyIn🇨🇦❄️Aug 4, 2025

@davidho

I'm with you on this, I dislike the shifting of responsibility .

Show threadcontrefeuAug 4, 2025
@SnowyCA @davidho It is frustrating to see nature (as in non-domesticated non-humans) still considered today as beneath humanity and outside its responsibility; especially in the Western world.
Show thread❄️SnowyIn🇨🇦❄️Aug 5, 2025

@contrefeu

It is very disappointing and heartbreaking when I see the disregard, disrespect for the natural world.

We exploit rather than live with the environment.

I don't believe we were meant to conquer this earth, rather, we should live within it, as a part of it, we are not separate.

@davidho

Show threadgjmAug 4, 2025

@davidho The only videos I can find all seem to begin when the whale is already partially underneath the boat, and I don't know enough about whales or boats to tell from those whether it's more "boat hit whale" or "whale hit boat".

It _looks_ more like "whale hit boat" to me -- at the start of all the video clips the whale is under _one side_ of the boat which is tipping over laterally. But that seems far from conclusive.

The article linked here suggests that the whale was injured before the collision, but it's pretty vague and indirect about this.

Is there some footage out there that makes it clearer exactly what happened and/or how much the collision actually caused the whale's death (as opposed to happening because the already-injured whale was less able to avoid it than whales usually are)?

Show threadNicholas GuarracinoAug 4, 2025
@davidho You're acting like the boater acted irresponsibly, which there is no evidence of. It was not the ocean. Barnegat Bay is like 4 feet deep for most of its length. I grew up sailing on the Bay, and I have literally never heard of anything close to this happening before now.