Rarely seen blue whale interrupts live TV interview

“This is one of the most extraordinary things I’ve ever seen”, Backshall gushes, going on and on over the “largest animal ever known to have lived on our planet”. Check it out here.

Big Blue Live Executive Producer James Honeyborne said: “We glimpsed a blue whale about a week ago but hadn’t spotted one since and we also hadn’t seen any krill, so the chances of filming a blue whale for our live broadcast were very low. I don’t believe what I’ve just heard”, an ebullient and harried Backshall says in the middle of the interview.

The live moment was part of the Big Blue Live television event by the BBC and PBS from Monterey Bay’s National Marine Sanctuary.

A blue whale managed to disrupt a live TV interview this weekend, when it was sighted just a short distance from where a BBC presenter was speaking with a whale expert in Monterey. Recent programs have helped the whales make a comeback.

“This is something that every single person out there should look at and take notice of”.

He then goes on to describe blue whales with the enthusiasm these remarkable creatures that were almost hunted to extinction deserve.

On the same day that the blue whale was seen – 24 August – the survey team, using their remotely operated vehicle (ROV), recorded a broad-billed swordfish several hundred metres below the surface.