Two women enjoying a day out kayaking almost became modern-day Jonahs as they had an up-close and frightening encounter with a whale, as they were almost swallowed by the animal.
Most members of the animal community fall into two distinct categories. There are, of course, those four-legged, furry creatures who are friendly, cuddly and would make excellent house pets.
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On the other hand, standing behind a strong barrier and from a safe distance is the best way to catch a glimpse at other animals. Being house pets would not be ideal for this second classification of animals. In fact, limiting interaction with these creatures would be best. Whales would fit securely into this category.
In November 2020, Julie McSorley and Liz Cottriel had an up-close and frightening encounter with a humpback whale off the coast of California, near Avila Beach, according to KMPH.
The CBC reports that Julie and Liz were simply watching whales eat fish. The two women tell the outlet that for the first hour or so of their outing, they kayaked around and followed whales. They watched the creatures as they ate silverfish.
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"So, I knew it was going to be very close, but again, I'd seen whales breach right next kayaks before,” Julie said. “So, my mind was like, this is going to be, you know, super cool."
But Julie turned out to be very wrong. The spectacular footage shows that the two women got too close to the massive sea creature.
Video footage shows the whale jumping out of the water with its mouth open. It appears to have momentarily engulfed the two women and their kayak.
Liz stated that she was close enough to see the inside of the massive creature's mouth.
"I'm thinking to myself, 'I'm going to push. Like, I'm going to push a whale out of the way,” Liz said. “It was the weirdest thought. I'm thinking, 'I'm dead. I'm dead.' I thought it was gonna land on me."
Soon after the encounter with the whale Julie and Liz both resurfaced.
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The scary situation was too much for the women to realize what had happened, that they might have momentarily been inside a whale’s mouth.
"They were telling us, 'You were in the mouth, you were in the whale's mouth!" Julie said. "But we didn't have any idea at that time. And it didn't really hit us until we watched the video later."
Julie has learned her lesson. She mentioned she won't make the same mistake. Instead, she vows to give whales more than enough space.
"I'll definitely kayak in the ocean by dolphins and otters and seals and all the others," she said. "But I think the whales need their space."
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“And God created great whales, and every living creature that moves, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good.” - Genesis 1:21
h/t: CBC, KMPH & YouTube.com/ABC 7
Featured Image Credit: YouTube.com/ABC 7