WATCH: Whale leaps out of shallow Maine water, surprising off-duty officer

KITTERY, Maine (KMID/KPEJ) – An off-duty police officer was surprised by an amazing sight on July 4, when a humpback whale leaped from shallow water just in front of the boat he was on.

Footage released from the Kittery Police Department showed the whale jumping out of the water in Pepperrell Cove as officer Danny Contois exclaims, “Holy moly! Wow.” Local media estimated the whale was in water about 12 to 15 feet deep.

“This morning off-duty Kittery Officer Danny Contois was working the stern of FV Double D when he captured this magnificent sight,” the Kittery Police Department wrote on Facebook.

Ashley Stokes, director of Marine Mammal Rescue at the Seacoast Science Center in Rye, told the Portsmouth Herald that the whale was likely so close to shore to feed on a recent influx of menhaden.

The Kittery Harbormaster invited residents to stay away from the whale. “He’s feeding on the abundance of fish in the area. But if you spook him, he could get injured, and none of us want that,” they wrote on Facebook.

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