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Man says he spotted whale in Caloosahatchee

Posted at 10:16 PM, Feb 03, 2017
and last updated 2017-02-06 07:29:20-05

NORTH FT. MYERS, Fla. -- Fish and wildlife biologists say it's not out of the ordinary to see a whale in Florida, but an Orca hasn't been sighted in the entire Gulf of Mexico since 1987.

"It was a sight to see, I was absolutely amazed."

David Webster sees a lot from his back window that overlooks the Caloosahatchee River, and on Friday he had quite a fish tale to tell.  "Right there next to my dock was a giant fin, and I would say three feet high, it was kind of doing this kind of thing, side to side," said Webster.

David grabbed his cell phone, rushed outside and started rolling, and what he saw made him think this large creature was a whale.

"What was strange is that it stayed with it's fin out of the water, continuously going and it left a V-wake behind it."

An avid nature photographer, Dave set up his professional camera, but the whale disappeared.  It was only after he turned the camera off the animal reappeared.

"I got a glimpse of a jump, an arc and it was black and white with the tail."

David says next time the whale comes back he'll be ready to capture the moment, and he's hoping the mysterious animal has an audience.  "I am excited and hoping that anything big comes back while the family is home, so the kids can come out here and see."

A biologist with the Florida Fish & Wildlife Commission is examining the video to determine if the animal is a whale.