SOUTH AFRICAN MAN BRIEFLY CONFUSED WITH BEING A WHALE DINNER
So have you watched Planet Earth on Netflix or on disc? I can’t help but think of the nature show because this man was doing the kind of work we get to see on these nature documentaries. But we never saw anything like this. A man from South Africa, Rainer Schimpf, was filming a sardine run in the water when the unimaginable happened. A whale appeared out of nowhere, mistaking him for a whale dinner. One moment Rainer was in the water. The next the lights went out because he was headfirst in the whale’s mouth. But fortunately, Rainer survived.
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MAN WAS FILMING A SARDINE RUN WITH TWO OTHERS, THEN A BRYDE’S WHALE TRIED TO SWALLOW HIM
So a sardine run is when insane masses of the little fish go on a “run,” which means there are gannets, penguins, seals, dolphins, sharks and, of course whales. But they’re all there to herd the sardines into tight masses, making them quick easy meals, or bait balls. So Rainer was in the water off South Africa’s Port Elizabeth Harbour with two other people filming the amazing nature scene. But then a Bryde’s whale appeared suddenly and mistook Rainer for a nice large mass of sardines. So just imagine the scene. You’re on the surface snorkeling and then a giant mouth appears from below, trying to swallow you headfirst.
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50-FOOT, 15 TON WHALE QUICKLY REALIZED ITS MISTAKE AND LET TERRIFIED MAN GO
Rainer recounted, “Once you’re grabbed by something that’s 15 tonnes heavy and very fast in the water, you realize you’re actually only that small in the middle of the ocean.” The three people had only been in the water for 2-3 minutes when this occurred. They had been paying attention to the sharks, for obvious reasons. But then a 50-foot behemoth caught them all b surprise. But most especially the man in its mouth. Fortunately, the 20 ton hungry whale quickly realized he wasn’t sardines and quickly spat him out. So he survived.
WHALES USUALLY APPEAR BEFORE THEY MAKE THEIR DINNER RUN
But those seconds must have been terrifying, as the whale could have dived deep first, leaving him to drown under high pressure. So how did this happen? Well, usually you see a sign of the whale before they make their move on sardine balls. But this one was so savvy, he caught something else entirely. Fortunately for him, he survived!