![Click to enlarge whale](https://www.sott.net/image/s35/711330/super/5e57cf2cd1488c153b4b20fc8e1758.jpg)
A pair of fishermen were tossed into the chilly New Hampshire waters Tuesday when a "p***** off" humpback landed squarely on their boat.
The thrilling video shows the magnificent beast soar out from the surface just beyond the stern of the small vessel anchored a half-mile off the coast of Portsmouth.
With nowhere else to go, the leviathan's head smashed onto the 23-foot boat, dragging it down into the water as it made its hard landing.
The two fishermen — who were not wearing life jackets — were catapulted into the sea as the vessel flipped over, the video shows.
"There is a p***** off whale patrolling the waters of Portsmouth NH today. Head on swivel if you're out there," former NHL player Ryan Whitney wrote in an X post accompanying the viral video.
Fortunately, one of several other fishing boats in the area raced to their rescue, the US Coast Guard said.
All parties escaped the terrifying incident without injury — including the whale.
According to experts, the incident was nothing more than a near-tragic coincidence — and had nothing to do with the ill temperament of the humpback.
"It was an accident," Dianna Schulte, co-founder and director of research for the Blue Ocean Society for Marine Conservation, told The Post.
The Portsmouth-based marine researcher said the video proves that the 30-foot-long juvenile was feeding when it broke through the surface of the water.
"The whales will come up through schools of fish with their mouth wide open and close their mouth, either right before they break the surface or even after they break the surface," Schulte said. "The boat was in the wrong place."
The marine mammal has become somewhat of a local celebrity for becoming the first humpback to hunt its meals in the Piscataqua River.
Minke whales are known to swim through the channel, but humpbacks tend to stay around 15 miles from shore, Schulte said. A population boom in Atlantic menhaden — a favorite among whales, dolphins and sharks — could be the reason the juvenile is coming closer to the coast, she said, adding that it could be using the shallow waters to its advantage as it builds upon its hunting skills.
The humpback's unusual presence has drawn plenty of gawkers in the last few weeks — meaning the fishermen should have been aware that there was a whale lurking below.
"The boaters that are in the video, they should have known better to not be fishing with a large whale in the area, because [an accident] can happen," Schultz said.
The idea that the whale was "p***** off" or may have been acting maliciously — like how Orcas are attacking sailboats in Europe — is preposterous, she continued.
"The whales, when they're feeding on the fish schools, when they're that dense, they just can't see through the fish school, so they don't know what's above them, especially on a cloudy day like today. So the whale had no idea that the boat was even there," said Schultz.
"I've been watching whales and researching whales for 30 years, and I've never seen a humpback whale purposely hit a boat."
As long as the trailblazing humpback is swimming in Portsmouth's shallow waters, Schultz warned that boaters and fishermen should give the animal as much as 100 yards of space, especially when they catch it at mealtime.
Humans aren't the only ones being put in harm's way when fishing too close to the massive mammals: whales can become entangled in fishing lines and lobster equipment, which could greatly hinder its ability to feed.
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