Man misses rare humpback whale just two feet away because he was on his MOBILE PHONE
A MAN engrossed in his mobile phone missed the chance encounter of a lifetime - with a rare humpback whale.
The oblivious man missed the amazing sight of the humpback whale two feet away
Photographer Eric Smith captured the moment when the oblivious texter missed the magnificent sight of the breaching whale.
The unidentified man was staring intently at his screen when the huge whale appeared - just a few feet from the sailing boat near Redondo Beach, California.
You think life is better on your phone, but we're missing what's happening around us
He then uploaded the image to Instagram with the caption: "A sign of the times."
Mr Smith told CBS News: "A small private sailboat manoeuvred really close to the whales, and this guy on it was literally sitting in that position and never moved.
"He could have been texting his mum in the hospital for all I know, but I thought it sucked that he missed such a wonderful moment happening two feet in front of him.
"We're all guilty of being buried in our phones, even me.
"You think life is better on your phone, but we're missing what's happening around us."
Well apparently my photo has gone viral. #whale #phone #photo pic.twitter.com/zYideoQBMS
— Eric J. Smith (@esmithla) February 5, 2015
There are only 80,000 humpback whales in the world, and 20,000 in the North Pacific where this whale was sighted.
The species is considered endangered in the United States.