The Netherlands isn’t a country that’s known for its wildlife, and you certainly wouldn’t be blamed for thinking you’d have to travel a little further afield if you wanted to catch a glimpse of some of nature’s great creatures. But, every once in a while, a small miracle takes place - and that’s exactly what happened off the coast of Zeeland earlier this week!

Lucky fisherman spots humpback whale off the coast of Zeeland

Humpback whales are regularly spotted in the North Sea, although sightings from the Netherlands are exceptionally rare. In fact, Annemarie van den Berg of SOS Dolfijn told Editie NL that whales only started venturing into Dutch waters after the year 2000, and that they’ve rarely been spotted so close before. 

One exceptionally lucky fisherman was in for a treat on Monday morning when he was out on his boat off the coast of the Dutch province of Zeeland. With rare front-row seats to what has to be one of the most magical shows on earth, he managed to capture footage of a humpback whale jumping out of the water. Take a look!

"These images are really great. This gentleman was really very lucky," Van den Berg said. “The humpback whale can occasionally be seen off the coast, but that it jumps out of the water and that it is filmed is really special." This isn't the first time that rather exotic animals have decided to visit the Netherlands, in the summer of 2020, Amsterdam acted as host for a group of wild flamingos!