A pair of kayakers have experienced a rare close encounter with two large whales off the coast of Western Australia.
Jarrod Saw captured the incredible interaction with his drone, which showed the moment one of the gentle giants swims directly beneath a kayaker, taking a moment to playfully perform a half breach also.
“It was quite a surreal experience,” the videographer told Today.
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A pair of kayakers have experienced a rare close encounter with two large whales off the coast of Western Australia. (Jarrod Saw/Supplied)
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“Over the weekend we’ve been documenting a lot of the whales migrating down the coast and it was just one of those moments where the whales have ventured over out of curiosity.”
While experts advise swimmers not to intentionally try and get up close and personal with whales and other marine life, sometimes that can be difficult when its the animals who want to interact.
Although Jarrod said it appeared as though the kayakers did everything right when they were surprised by the massive creatures.
Jarrod Saw captured the incredible interaction with his drone. (Today)
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“If you find yourself in a situation like that, you’ve just got to do exactly what they’re doing and just remain calm, don’t make any sudden movements and hopefully the situation works in your favour,” he said.
We have heard of incidents, though, along the coast where people haven’t been as lucky – a southern right whale, for example, you’re looking at about a 40-ton animal, so you can imagine the amount of force in its tail while it’s trying to defend its calf.
“That’s why a lot of the safe distancing rules are in place to not just protect the animals, but also to protect yourself from these situations.”
Check out the incredible vision in the video above