Watch this surfer almost get swallowed by a Humpback whale

According to CBS News, over the past week, a pod of Humpback whales, each measuring about the length of a school bus, have come unusually close to the Santa Cruz shoreline in search of food. CBS states that the sanctuary and Coast Guard have issued warnings for people to stay at least 100 yards away from the whales or face fines of at least $2,500 for whale harassment.

This morning, I stumbled upon this pretty awesome video on Percolate of a surfer floating on her board with a pair of kayakers just a few feet away. Suddenly, two hefty Humpback whales fly out of the water (breach) right in front of them, and it was all caught on tape by Barb Roettger.

According to the video post, Roettger says “she has now gained a greater respect for whales, their feeding patterns and will now only spectate from the decidedly safer dry land”. The event, which almost looks as if the whale might swallow them whole, took place last weekend. You can watch it here below. Oh, and it’s good to know that Humpbacks are baleen whales, or filter-feeders so they live mainly on tiny krill and small fish; therefore the surfer was not in danger of actually being eaten.