Man knocked unconscious by whale’s tail off Australia, reports say. ‘Extremely rare’

A fisherman was hospitalized after he was struck in the face by a whale’s tail off the coast of Queensland, Australia, in what has been described as an “extremely rare” encounter, according to news reports.

The man — an unidentified 40-year-old — was in a small boat with another fisherman about a half-mile from the mainland on the morning of Aug. 18 when the incident occurred, according to 9News.

“All of a sudden a whale’s tail appeared striking one in the head,” Scott Brown, a paramedic with the Queensland Ambulance Service, told the outlet.

The freak episode rendered him unconscious.

Adam Bell, a jet skier who witnessed the incident, described it to 7News as “like getting hit by Mike Tyson … it just pounded him, absolutely pounded him.”

After being slapped, the man’s face was covered in slime and sported a large welt, Bell added.

Bell and his family then sprang into action, calling the authorities, who organized a rescue operation, per the outlet.

Paramedics and water police boarded the man’s boat, and volunteers helped navigate it to shore, according to 9News.

“They didn’t want to take him off the boat because they thought he had neck injuries,” John Murray, an official with the Marine Rescue New South Wales, told the outlet.

The man was then transported to Gold Coast University Hospital “in a stable condition,” according to ABC News Australia.

He sustained minor injuries and had no memory of the event, Brown said, according to the outlet.

The man, who remained in the hospital overnight, “couldn’t believe it when paramedics told him about the accident,” according to 7News.

Authorities said the encounter was incredibly rare.

“I’ve been doing this for 22 years and I’ve never heard of a whale actually hitting someone on a stationary boat,” Murray said, according to 9News.

“One, to come that close to a whale and then two, for the whale’s tail to contact you while you’re in the boat — extremely rare,” Brown said, according to News.com.au.

He urged oceangoers to be cautious as there are many whales in the area during this time of year, according to ABC News Australia.

Humpback whales, for example, migrate northward along the country’s eastern coast between June and August, according to the Australian government.

This story was originally published August 20, 2024 at 2:38 PM with the headline "Man knocked unconscious by whale’s tail off Australia, reports say. ‘Extremely rare’."