The whale then shielded Nan underneath his pectoral fin and pushed her through the water to safety as another whale warded off the shark with its tail. Nan, 63, believes the video clip is proof of whales’ instinct to protect other species, including humans.
Cook Islands native Nan said: ‘I wasn’t sure what the whale was up to when he approached me, and it didn’t stop pushing me around for over 10 minutes. It seemed like hours. I was a bit bruised up. ‘I’ve spent 28 years underwater with whales, and have never had a whale so tactile and so insistent on putting me on his head, or belly, or back, or, most of all, trying to tuck me under his huge pectoral fin.
‘I tried to get away from him for fear that if he rammed me too hard, or hit me with his flippers or tail, that would break my bones and rupture my organs. If he held me under his pectoral fin, I would have drowned.’ She added: ‘I didn’t want to panic, because I knew that he would pick up on my fear. I stayed calm to a point but was sure that it was most likely going to be a deadly encounter.’ ‘I feel a very close kinship with animals, so despite my trepidation, I tried to stay calm and figure out how to get away from him
‘I never took my eyes off him which is why I didn’t see the shark right away.’ Local fishermen described the tiger shark being as big ‘as a pickup truck’. After making it to the safety of her team’s boat off Muri Beach, Cook Islands, Nan was amazed to see the whale surface to check she was safe. The biologist hopes the footage will spark more research and awareness into the personalities of whales as it is the first time they have been caught on film protecting humans. They have been known to save seals from killer whales by hiding them under their fins. Nan said: ‘They truly display altruism – sometimes at the risk of losing their own lives.’
Metro.co.uk
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