The Dorsal Fin

Raw video footage of a southern right whale breaching and landing on a sailboat has surfaced since the news story first hit the media last week.

The Independent Online reported that South Africa’s Department of Environmental Affairs is investigating the incident after several witnesses claim that the boat had illegally approached the whale in violation of regulations that require boaters to give the whales at least a 300m berth. The eyewitness accounts seemed to be backed up by a voice, which can be heard in the background of the raw video saying, “They don’t listen. You can’t go close.”

CNN.com has an extended version of the raw footage, in which the crew of the boat from which the video was filmed seemingly left the scene laughing at the crew of the sailboat without checking on the well-being of the boaters. Fortunately, nobody was hurt on-board the sailboat.

It would seem that even whales aren’t immune to “Jaws” references in the news. CNN‘s report on a breaching whale that landed on a sailboat near Cape Town harbor features clips from “Jaws.” Additionally, during an interview in the report, the interviewer even asks one of the occupants of the boat if she thought about “Jaws” when the incident happened.

The southern right whale was “definitely badly bruised, but probably did not break anything,” according to a marine scientist quoted in USA Today. The USA Today article also calls into question whether or not the whale was being harassed by the boaters. Legally, sailors are required to stay at least 1,000′ from whales, according to the report.

In other breaking news, CNN also aired a clip this morning of a someone being chased by a moose. There were no “Jaws” references in the moose report, though.