I WAS TRAPPED IN A WHALE’S MOUTH
TRAPPED inside the mouth of a 40ft whale, diver Rainer Schimpf wondered if he would live to tell his astonishing story.
“It happened extremely fast,” he said. “Nothing can actually prepare you for the event when you end up inside the whale – it’s pure instinct.
“I held my breath because I thought, ‘He’s going to dive down and release me much deeper in the ocean.’ It was pitch black inside.”
Rainer, who runs diving tours, was caught as he and his group watched a “sardine run” – an event when whales, dolphins, sharks and other sea creatures work together to feed on shoals of fish they herd into “bait balls”.
Sea conditions off Port Elizabeth in South Africa were realised it had made a mistake and spat him out.
He got off lightly compared to Jonah, the character in the Bible who was swallowed by a whale and spent three days in its belly. And he reckons it was an experience to treasure.
“It gives me a connection to the whale which I don’t think anyone else has had,” he said.
“Whales are no maneaters so this really was an accident. They are gentle giants.”
Adult Bryde whales are between 40 and 55ft long and live in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans.
The biggest animals weigh more than 30tons, and they can dive to 300metres. They catch prey by taking huge gulps of water and trapping as many small creatures as they can in their huge mouths.