- A tour guide had recently been out snorkeling in South Africa
- He recalls almost being swallowed by a whale during a snorkeling expedition
- He was mistakenly swept into its jaws during a sardine feeding frenzy
What an obituary this would have been. A South African South African dive tour operator named Rainer Schimpfrecalled nearly being swallowed by a whale after he was mistakenly swept into its jaws during a sardine feeding frenzy last month.
He was snorkeling close to Port Elizabeth Harbour when a collection of pictures captured him being sucked headfirst right into a Bryde’s whale’s mouth. “There was no time for fear or any emotion,” he advised The Telegraph. “I knew instantly what had happened. I knew that a whale had come and taken me and I instinctively held my breath, assuming that it would dive down again and spit me out somewhere in the depths of the Indian Ocean.”
He’s lucky it didn’t since Bryde’s whales, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, can dive for five to 15 minutes and can reach depths of up to 1,000 feet. Fortunately, virtually as quickly because the unlucky gulp started, the whale launched its jaw, permitting him to slide free to the floor.