Humpback whale mistakenly scoops up seal while feeding

ANACORTES, Wash. — Here’s something you don’t see every day: a seal in the mouth of a humpback whale.

The incredibly rare event happened during a whale-watching tour in Anacortes Thursday, and yes it was caught on camera.

The Blue Kingdom Whale & Wildlife Tours were watching humpback whale BCX1876 "Zillion" feed on a school of small bait fish. Then at one point, Zillion opened her jaws and lunged toward the surface for a mouthful of fish, but got an unexpected surprise.

Her mouthful also contained an unsuspecting harbor seal! Erin Gless, the executive director of the Pacific Whale Watch Association, believes the harbor seal was likely feeding on the same small fish and found itself in the wrong place at the wrong time.

“Humpback whales eat small fish and krill, NOT seals. While they have very large mouths, their throats are roughly the size of a grapefruit, so they can't swallow something as large as a seal,” Gless said.

Zillion repeatedly opened her jaw and lowered her head into the water until the seal was able to swim away.

“We occasionally see humpback whales get small birds stuck in their mouths while feeding, but a seal was a huge surprise,” Gless said.