--- title: Beluga Whale Photobombs Governor Malloy description: Beluga whale Juno photobombed Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy during a press conference on tourism growth at the Mystic Aquarium canonical: https://time.com/4020546/beluga-whale-connecticut-press-conference-malloy/ author: Olivia B. Waxman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-09-02T19:45:08.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T08:03:02.087Z og:title: This Beluga Whale Photobombed the Connecticut Governor og:description: Beluga whale Juno photobombed Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy during a press conference on tourism growth at the Mystic Aquarium og:url: https://time.com/4020546/beluga-whale-connecticut-press-conference-malloy/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: This Beluga Whale Photobombed the Connecticut Governor twitter:description: Beluga whale Juno photobombed Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy during a press conference on tourism growth at the Mystic Aquarium twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # This Beluga Whale Photobombed the Connecticut Governor > Sponsored content. 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It curates the day's top headlines with TIME's reporting and analysis across politics, world affairs, business, health and culture. It is free to join at time.com/newsletters. #### How do I sign up for The Brief? The Brief is available free at time.com/newsletters, where readers can select it along with any of TIME's other six newsletters. There is no subscription required to receive it. #### Is The Brief free? Yes. The Brief is a free daily email newsletter from TIME. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes The Brief? The Brief is led by editor Richard Hall and draws on reporting from TIME's newsroom. Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-brief-2026q3/newsletters?i=473d914f-79b8-477a-b422-49320e69558c&cr=time-nl-brief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: 5 Elements of A Viral Video [Watch (HLS stream): 5 Elements of A Viral Video](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/vgQtqA8c.m3u8) (1:31)  _Published 2015-06-22. 5 Elements of A Viral Video_  by [Olivia B. Waxman](https://time.com/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Staff Writer Sep 2, 2015 7:45 PM UTC  by [Olivia B. Waxman](https://time.com/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Staff Writer Sep 2, 2015 7:45 PM UTC A press conference at the Mystic Aquarium Wednesday turned into a whale watching session when a beluga whale photobombed Connecticut Governor Dannel P. Malloy. While the Democrat was talking about the growth of the tourism industry in the state, the nearly 12-foot-long, 1,320 pound marine mammal stole the spotlight, pressing its face against the glass and hovering behind the politician, [WFSB reports.](http://www.wfsb.com/story/29944355/beluga-whale-photo-bombed-governor-at-mystic-aquarium-during-tourism-news-conference) Images taken by the press conference attendees: > [](https://twitter.com/Leigh%5FAppleby/status/639122229402406912) > [](https://twitter.com/JennBFoxCT/status/639102781043961856) > [](https://twitter.com/wnprharriet/status/639103059801477120) > [](https://twitter.com/CRN%5FNews/status/639104907329597440) [NBC Connecticut](http://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/local/Beluga-Steals-the-Spotlight-During-Governors-Press-Conference-323949371.html) points out that it is not the first time Juno has gone viral for interacting with visitors, between that time in 2012 when [he made visitors laugh](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQNDwZ2gJuI) by looking over an artist’s shoulder as he drew in a sketchbook, and that time in 2011 when he was [serenaded](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZS%5F6-IwMPjM) by a mariachi band — a clip that has racked up more than 4.3 million views on YouTube to date. ## Transcript [ NOISE ] What makes a video go viral? Here's our guess. Mishka, I love you. [ NOISE ] Number one, cute animals. [ LAUGH ] Charlie, Charlie bit me. [ MUSIC ] [ FOREIGN ] [ MUSIC ] [ UNKNOWN ], we're going to Disneyland. Oh, my god. Number two, cute kids. [ MUSIC ] [ MUSIC ] [ MUSIC ] Number 3, remixes. [ MUSIC ] Whoa, oh my God, oh my God. [ LAUGH ] Oh my God. Whoo. Number four, spontaneity. Look at all those Number five. Cute kids and cute animals. Put this all together and it will certainly end up on your Facebook feed. 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