The incredible moment is captured when a man off the coast of South Africa narrowly avoids being swallowed whole by a Bryde's whale Thursday (August 29).
"I was fast enough at least, and had a once-in-a-life time experience," said the filmer.
Bryde’s whales are found in every ocean of the world, according to marine biologists. However, as they prefer waters of 16 degrees Celsius or more, they limit their travel to within tropical, subtropical and warm temperate waters – the only species of baleen whale to do so. Some populations of Bryde's whales take such a liking to an area that they are considered ‘resident’, while other populations migrate away from the equator in summer and back again in winter.
