A Kittery police officer and harbormaster captured amazing videos of a whale jumping out of the water on July 4th.

It's rare to see something like this, but it's even less likely to be caught on video

How often do we later regret seeing something amazing because we didn't take a video of it? It happens to me all the time. But a Kittery police officer and the town's harbormaster pulled out their phones at just the right moment to capture something you don't see often.

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An off-duty Kittery police officer filmed the whale escape

Officer Danny Contois was off duty on July 4th and working on the stern of the FV Double D when he captured this sight rarely caught on video. I have watched it repeatedly and as much as I am fascinated by the whale, I also find it amusing to see the many fish flying through the air that were saved from becoming lunch. You can view the officer's video on the Kittery Police Department's Facebook page.

When I watched Officer Contois' video, I wondered how he knew his phone had to capture the footage. Then I found similar videos, from a different angle, taken by the Kittery Harbormaster. They show the whale swimming through the harbor before jumping out of the water.

For the safety of everyone, including the whale, the harbormaster asked people to leave the whale alone while it feasted on the numerous fish in the area.

Better than fireworks

The boat was in the anchorage of Pepperell Cove Harbor off the coast of Kittery when the whale showed up. I guess the fireworks were a bit of a disappointment after this whale showed up to say hello.