A kayaker's peaceful paddle turned into a heart-pounding wildlife encounter in a clip that has viewers both awestruck and uneasy.
The post, shared in the r/StrangeEarth subreddit, is titled, "Imagine kayaking… and suddenly some of the biggest animals on the planet swim up alongside you."
The video shows a kayaker gliding across open water when a massive whale surfaces right beside them (click here if the embedded video doesn't appear). Its enormous head pokes above the surface just feet from the small boat. It then looks like several whales are circling around, with some sticking their fins up in the air from the water.
The person recording the video seems to be laughing in both amazement and nervousness, while the person in the video has a slightly uneasy expression on his face.
One commenter summed up the situation, saying, "I would be exhilarated and a little terrified at the same time."
Up close encounters with whales like this are pretty rare, but as human activity expands into natural spaces and habitats, they're becoming more common.
Experts stress the importance of safe wildlife viewing — including keeping safe distances to avoid stressing animals or risking injury. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration generally advises people to stay at least 100 feet, or a football field, away from whales. Some whales and locations require even more distance.
In this case, the kayakers didn't have that much choice, as it seemed the whale approached them.
Commenters were equally amazed at the close encounter.
"Whales are such amazing and beautiful creatures," one wrote. "Would this be scary? Sure, but that lil guy was just curious and maybe even playful. They're most often gentle giants and what a privilege it would be to have an encounter like this."
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Another said, "It's amazing how aware they are of us and respectful to us! They treat us every bit as a fellow being on this planet, I wish it was always the case of us with them."
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