A bewildered seal found itself in the mouth of a humpback whale

SEATTLE — Fortunately, seals are not on the humpback whale’s menu.

A whale-watching naturalist’s photo captured a seemingly stunned seal in the mouth of a humpback whale after the giant marine mammal accidentally swallowed him last Thursday in the waters off Anacortes, Washington.

The feeding frenzy began when a Blue Kingdom Whale and Wildfire Tours boat spotted birds flying over a school of fish and a humpback whale swam toward them, said Capt. Tyler McKeen. He said the humpback whale then used a lunging feeding technique, in which the whale opened its mouth wide and gulped down small fish and water. But instead of remaining underwater to filter through its baleen, it came to the surface and began opening and closing its mouth.

After the whale was back under water, the photos and videos were viewed by whale watchers.

“It only took a few seconds for everyone to pull up the frames and zoom in,” McKeen said. “Then we saw the seal. It was a funny, funny moment for everyone. I mean, it probably wasn’t as funny for the seal.”

A photo taken by Brooke Casanova shows the seal, which was also believed to be hunting the fish, emerging from the bottom of the whale’s mouth. McKeen captured video on his phone of the seal being washed away.

“I suspect this situation occurs from time to time because there are many other animals that eat these fish,” McKeen said.

Humpback whales frequent the Salish Sea, the inland waters between British Columbia and Washington state, during their migrations. Humpbacks were hunted to extinction in these waters, but over the past 25 years their numbers have recovered and they are now routinely seen on whale watching tours, McKeen said.

He added that the whale that accidentally ate the seal is known as “Big Mama” because she has been seen with seven different calves over the years.