Kayaker caught on camera almost getting swallowed by a whale

Two kayakers were enjoying the day along with other people, fish, whales, and birds in Avila Beach, California. They were watching humpback whales feeding when one of the whales scared the hell out of them: it almost swallowed them! One of the women filmed the whole experience, and it looks pretty scary. But when you look at it from the side, it’s even scarier.

In the video, you can see a flock of birds circling around, and suddenly lots of small fish appearing near the kayak. Julie McSorley is one of the ladies who was on the kayak, and she filmed what happened. “I saw the big pool of fish, the big bait ball come up out of the water,” she told KMPH. “I saw the whale come up,” she added, “I thought, ‘Oh no! It’s too close.” The animal grabbed both of the women along with their kayak. Thankfully, both of them were unharmed as the whale opened its mouth and released them. The researchers said they would try to identify the whale and check if it was unharmed as well.

Whales of the World shared a video filmed by a man who was standing on the side. From this perspective, the whole experience looks even scarier. However, note that a whale can’t swallow a human. “Its throat is very narrow,” Whales of the World motes. “That is why it feeds only on small fish and krill.” Still, it doesn’t mean that this experience wasn’t dangerous. The animal still could have caused fatal injuries due to the strength of its jaw.

Take a look at the second video below, but mind some strong language:

Knowing that everyone was okay and unharmed, I must say that this video instantly reminded me of Pinocchio. It’s a good thing that everything ended well, but this is certainly one of the most frightening and unusual scenes I’ve ever seen caught on camera.

[via PetaPixel]