Kiteboarder arrested!

Bit awkward at your job interview when your criminal record comes up and you're charged with 'molestation of a protected animal'.

Going off one photo as evidence he doesn't look that ****ing close. That's my local beach. It's a dog beach and quite a long beach. All sorts of weirdos and fanatics have been rocking up checking out the whales. Was it a case of overprotective spectators? Same guy both days? How close did he actually get? I was there this morning watching the whales while sucking on a chino. They were doing f$$k all. The real criminal was the wind. Cops should of locked up that westerly s$$t for life

Our tax dollars at work! I would charge the police with wasting resources on plain stupid issues.

How close to the whale is too close? Is this a general knowledge everyone knows? Did the kitesurfer approached the whale or the whale approached the kitesurfer? Did the kitesurfer even know the whale was there? I kitesurf without my glasses and don't use contact lenses - I would not see the whale unless it would flip in front of me.

A simple caution would have been more than enough. Not long ago police would not arrest men for physical violence against wife/partner and they still routinely ignore reports of breaking restraining orders, but they are willing to do it for whales? What a bag of nonsense!!!

The surfer at Bondi beach a couple of years ago who was literally knocked unconscious by a whale flapping it's tail on his head wasn't charged. This guy should be able argue that he didn't see the whale, I guess it will just depend on how many Karens show up to court as witnesses for the prosecution...

I feel sorry for the guy - He might not have seen the whale. Usually 100 - 300 meters from a whale or dolphin is generally the rule. If it is unexpected then you must give it room when you have noticed the mammal. At Balnarring in Victoria Dolphins scare the "Bejezus" out of you they pop up in pods and they are not small animals (In Western Port there is a VERY BIG White Pointer as well, hangs around Phillip Island Seal Colony - Ask the Rangers). Even when you give the Dolphins a wide berth they follow you (they tend to look at you because you don't make minimal noise). What pisses me off is Boaties that head straight for them and don't understand that 5 - 6 boat lengths is the minimum distance.

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HappyG said..
What pisses me off is Boaties that head straight for them and don't understand that 5 - 6 boat lengths is the minimum distance.

So what are you supposed to do when a pod of dolphins start bow riding? Particularly if and when you're on a sailing vessel it's common as muck for them to start playing around in your wake. Surely they don't expect you to come to stop until they bugger off.

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dafish said..

theDoctor said..

pretty common occurrence where we kite.
I'm no dr dolittle, but i swear they are just as interested in us as we are in them.
last season whilst paddle boarding early one morning, a mother and her calf happened by.

the mumma whale was pushing the calf towards us, coming up from underneath it to lift it to the surface less than a few metres from us. it was either showing us to her baby or showing her baby to us. when SHE had had enough they both farked off.

Wow, I would have to say in all the years I have been on this forum that this is the first no bull**** pisstake post you have made (that I have seen.) There still is hope for humanity. ;) I too have had the mother whale and calf experience, and yes, they are interested in us too.

Yep I'm f#####g concerned for his mental well-being, or becoming a boring twat with posts like that .Covid sucks

What about the Navy ships the keep smashing into whales.
Does that make the captain a wildlife molesterer, or the whole crew.

seems a bit OTT to be arrested but I guess a lot of Karens around atm ... I'm guessing he wasn't wearing a face mask either

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Plummet said..
I wonder what baby hump back whale steaks go for in a Japanese restaurant?..... Ahem..... after they have been examined for science of course.

They don't -- they get shipped off to be put in school lunches because nobody is buying them in restaurants anymore.

And it's not Humpback whale anyway

From what was reported locally - First day would probably have been a warning
Going back the next day and doing it again was probably the issue
Obviously no accident - with 50 odd lining the esplanade watching as this is a rare location for calving
We sail SA waters with them throughout winter and most people are intelligent enough to keep their distance - it's just common sense
Unfortunately the problem with common sense is it isn't very common

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Jono77 said..

Plummet said..
I wonder what baby hump back whale steaks go for in a Japanese restaurant?..... Ahem..... after they have been examined for science of course.

I took this photo of a menu when I was in Tokyo in January 2020.

So is that bacon made out of whale? Or bacon wrapped whale?

Either way it sounds delicious and at $8 nzd is a pretty good price.

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Jono77 said..

Plummet said..

Jono77 said..

Plummet said..
I wonder what baby hump back whale steaks go for in a Japanese restaurant?..... Ahem..... after they have been examined for science of course.

I took this photo of a menu when I was in Tokyo in January 2020.

So is that bacon made out of whale? Or bacon wrapped whale?

Either way it sounds delicious and at $8 nzd is a pretty good price.

Sashimi of raw horse meat also sounded adventurous.

Unfortunately for some reason (may have been morals) I did not try any of these treats.

Man I would have. You could have had a whale of a time.

There is a theory that if you want something to not become extinct,,,,,, eat it!

Do you see extinct chickens or cows? No.....

Lets start the endangered species restaurant.

Bengal Tiger cutlets
Kiwi omlets
Platpus pie
Bald eagle bake
Bison Brai.

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lucy5 said..
It's ok if your in a boat to go check them
out but not on a kite it seems

I guess you have missed the point. The whales come to the boats, it's their choice. However, if a kiter chases them down, or heads toward them within 100 meters then that is the issue. If the kiter stopped, and the whales came to him/her then it would be the curiosity of the whales wanting to come and inspect. Then it's fair game. This has been my experience while stand up paddling around wild life. Having done some freediving with humpbacks in Tonga we were never chasing whales. We would head to an area where they were, give them some space, get in the water, and then wait. They would come to us, especially the juveniles as they were super curious. So would the mother's and calves.