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On May l0, 1992, Lee Tepley & Lisa Costello
entered the water with a small group of Pilot
whales offshore from the island of Hawaii. A
curious Pilot whale approached Lisa who petted it
for almost a minute. Shortly after Lisa stopped
petting the whale it charged her, spun her around
and let her go. This event was captured on 16 mm
film (as shown at the left). The whale then took
Lisa underwater and held her leg in it's mouth
until she almost drowned (as shown below.). No
similar event involving Pilot whales has ever been
reported. The film footage - referred to as "The
Pilot whale incident" - is not only unique and
dramatic but also raises important questions about
Pilot whale behavior.
Lee Tepley was convicted of whale harassment
for filming this incident. The conviction was
reversed in district court.
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