A video captured the whale slam into a fishing boat.
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ByEyewitness News 
Tuesday, October 13, 2026 2:43PM
MORICHES, New York (WABC) — A group of fishermen got an unexpected close encounter with a humpback whale while boating off the coast near Moriches Inlet in Suffolk County.
Video shows small fish suddenly leaping from the water before a humpback whale bursts to the surface and slams into the boat.
Experts said the whale appears to be a juvenile engaged in a behavior known as “lunge feeding,” when whales surge through the water to catch schools of fish.
According to those experts, the whale was not attacking the boat. Instead, the vessel was likely in the whale’s path as it pursued its prey.
No one aboard the boat was injured.
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