If residents along the Saint Lawrence river in Canada looked out their windows on Tuesday evening, they would have glimpsed an unusual sight; a huge whale was spotted swimming in the water.

The humpback whale swam all the way up from the Atlantic Ocean and managed to get to the bridges that connect the north and south shores of Quebec City.

In the short video, you can see the whale playing happily in the river next to the boat, the city bridges in the background.

Mise à jour | la baleine observée près du Pont de Québec est un rorqual à bosse, et non pas un petit rorqual. Le @GREMM_ indique que c’est la première observation du genre à la hauteur de Québec. La loi prévoit qu’il faut rester à plus de 100m. #FM93 pic.twitter.com/2Fy8GVDht8

— Jonathan Bernard (@Reporter_Qc) May 26, 2020

The whale was spotted by fisherman on Tuesday afternoon before disappearing sometime around 8:30 p.m.

According to the Groupe de recherche et d'éducation sur les mammifères marins (GREMM), which reported the sighting, the appearance of a humpback whale so close to the city is a first.

Une baleine observée près du Pont de Québec https://t.co/xdYnHmZy4v #FM93 pic.twitter.com/7y4yoHOFYq

— FM93 Québec (@fm93quebec) May 26, 2020

"There have historically been reports of minke whales and beluga whales, but never whales of this size," the GREMM says.

They added that an adult humpback whale "measures between 13 and 17 metres long and can weigh up to 40 tonnes."

Although nobody knows exactly why the curious whale ventured so close to the city, GREMM suggests that it could have been following prey or become lost.

The research group took to Twitter to remind Quebec residents to stay a healthy distance away from the whale, writing, "in order to ensure the safety of the whale and minimize its stress, we ask the public to keep at least 100 metres away from it."

Un rorqual à bosse a été observé cet après-midi dans le secteur Saint-Romuald, près des ponts de Québec. L'animal nage librement. Afin de s'assurer de la sécurité de la baleine et de minimiser son stress, nous demandons au public de garder ses distances avec elle, au moins 100 m.

— Baleines en direct (@BaleineMagazine) May 26, 2020

And while Canadians were asked to keep their distance and let the whale swim "freely," they were still pretty excited about its appearance in the river.

Humpback whales are swimming out near Quebec City!!!

— Nora Loreto (@NoLore) May 27, 2020

Plenty of humpback whales swim in the waters near Quebec, but they rarely make it past the village of Tadoussac — making the rare sighting even more exciting.

"Fun fact: there's a whale next to the bridge in Quebec right now," one resident wrote on Tuesday.

fun fact y’a une baleine à côté du pont de québec en ce moment !!

— câlinours 🐇🧸🐓 (@douxlapinou) May 26, 2020

Vancouver residents have also spotted a number of whales recently, including some brave orcas that travelled close to Coal Harbour in the downtown area.

Although it's unclear why so many whales are choosing to stretch their flippers and swim closer to cities these days, it certainly is a treat for Canadians everywhere.