Fans Crowd Rare Whale in Australia

A rare white whale has been sighted off Australia’s east coast, exciting whale watchers but prompting suggestions that special laws might be needed to protect it from curious onlookers. The white humpback has delighted hundreds of whale watchers who have chartered boats to watch as it breached and leisurely swam off Queensland state’s Gold Coast tourist mecca the last two days.

Diver Gary Philpot captured extraordinary images, broadcast on national television on Friday, as he swam close by the whale. “It was the most incredible thing I’ve ever experienced. This thing was just like a huge white submarine,” Philpot told Ten Network television.

But Philpot’s frolic with the 46-foot whale prompted reminders from state authorities about fines of up to $5,921 for people who come within 300 meters of a whale.

“The white humpback whale which has been the focus of attention over the past 24 hours is a fascinating creature but may need to be protected to some extent from an over-abundance of interest,” Queensland Environment Minister Dean Wells said.

Locals have nicknamed the whale “Moby,” after Herman Melville’s famed 1851 novel about a sea captain obsessed with a white whale. Melville’s Moby Dick was a sperm whale rather than a humpback.

Local media also reported that one aboriginal elder had called the whale “migaloo,” or “white feller.”

Whale researchers said the white whale has been seen many times off the coast of Queensland and New South Wales since 1991.

Up to 5,000 humpbacks migrate up Australia’s east coast from April to August each year from feeding grounds in the Antarctic to feed and breed in tropical waters.