Off the coast of Avila Beach in central California, two scuba divers narrowly escaped being swallowed whole by humpback whales, the Albany Tribune reported.
The divers wore wetsuits and were floating near their boat while people on board held cameras to catch a whale bursting from the water. The divers were floating in the midst of a group of krill when the whales came up to feed on the small fish. The two divers narrowly avoided the massive whales' mouths.
One of the crewmembers holding the camera joked with the divers saying they were "going to have to do more to clean that wetsuit."
Caution: this video contains an instance of harsh language.
Shawn Stamback, one of the two divers, told Pete Thomas Outdoors he saw the whales feeding about a quarter mile from the boat when he and Francis Antigua got in the water.
"We were just floating around in the water, hoping to get some shots of the whales in the distance, when all of a sudden the sardines started going crazy," Stamback said.
Monica DeAngelis, a mammal expert for the National Marine Fisheries Service, said the divers did not appear to break any laws, just based on the video.
"They certainly are lucky no one got hurt," she said. "In addition, they were clearly closer than the [100-yard] recommended guidelines."
It is illegal for divers and boaters to harass or interrupt the behavior of whales and other marine animals. Boats are simply advised to maintain a 100-yard distance from these animals.
Humpback whales can grow to the size of a school bus and can weigh as many as 50 tons, but they are not known to be aggressive toward humans. There are no records of humpbacks swallowing humans and the only reason for the close encounter seems to be the divers' ultra-close proximity to the group of krill.
Stamback said he was "right in the middle of the meatball" of the krill as the whale emerged toward the surface for feeding. He said he felt like the whale sensed his presence and intentionally avoided swallowing the divers.
