An underwater photograph featuring a Chinese tourist has caused an uproar across a Pacific island nation, with locals accusing the woman of “disrespecting” wildlife. They were angry because it appeared to show a diver sitting on the back of a juvenile whale while taking a selfie.
But those associated with the diving group argue the image has been taken out of context, and that no rules were broken. In Tonga, it's legal to swim with whales if you're with a licensed operator and they must ensure whales are not "disturbed or harassed".
The practice can be controversial because it can disrupt whales when they migrate to the country's Vava'u island group, particularly when they're raising young or feeding.
Responses on social media to the photograph in Tonga have been furious, with one person calling it “disgusting”. The nation’s tourism ministry was forced to issue a response, confirming it had identified the person posting the image and tracked him to the African island of Mauritius.
It comes as Mauritius also announced it will be investigating what it calls “whale chasing”, a practice where boat owners chase down whales which want to avoid human contact, so tourists can swim with them. It has now banned whale watching tours from allowing customers to swim with them. And in 2023, an Australian research team warned bad behaviour around whale sharks in the Philippines could harm their welfare.
A separate incident at an unknown location shows tourists crowding around a sperm whale. Source: mouton_yangyang
Humpback whales are an important part of Tonga’s economy, worth an estimated US $2.1 million ($3.1m) to the country annually. But there are concerns about the impacts on whales as the industry quickly expands to meet international demand.
Following the incident, the Tonga’s government warned it is reviewing all whale watching licences and penalising those who breach regulations. “The Ministry will continue to carry out enforcement work into this matter and other matters that may arise as we near the end of the whale watching season,” it said in a statement.
A woman who appeared to be associated with the Chinese whale watching group that sparked the Tongan controversy responded online, sharing an extended video of the dive, which occurred in September 2023, but only went viral in October, 2024.
Posting to the Chinese social media app WeChat she said the whales approached her group, adding that they could have swam away if they didn’t want to be near people.
“Do you think we’d be able to swim close to wild whales? They’re not domesticated cats or dogs,” she wrote on the platform in Mandarin.
The video she posted appears to have been shot from a different angle to the original photograph. You can watch it below.
She claims the footage shows the whale rushing towards them. The video then shows divers turning their backs to the whale. She argues this moment was taken out of context by “haters”.
The video then shows at least one person reaching out towards the young whale, but it’s unclear whether they’re doing so to touch the animal or simply to keep it away.
Whale advocacy group China Cetacean Alliance told Yahoo News it's of the opinion that the vessel is parked too close to the pod of whales. “Some of the divers demonstrated inadequate conservation awareness and diving skills,” it said.
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