A Huge Whale Wouldn’t Leave This Diver’s Side For One Strange Reason
Marine biologist Nan Hauser went out for a routine dive that started out just like every other dive she had ever been on. She put her wetsuit on one leg at a time, grabbed her mask and snorkel and headed out to the open ocean. This dive got surprisingly dangerous when a huge humpback whale swam up to Nan's side. The whale started pushing her around. Humpbacks are normally very gentle and friendly so Nan felt like something was seriously wrong.
Pretty soon, though, Nan discovered the real reason why the whale was acting so strange. Keep reading to find out how Nan got out of the ocean alive that day.
Nan Is A Marine Biologist
This is Nan Hauser. She has dedicated her life to studying ocean life, specifically marine mammals such as whales and dolphins. She's been in this line of work for nearly 30 years, and her career has taken her all over the globe from the Cook Islands to the Bahamas.
This woman even managed to establish a whale sanctuary in the territorial waters off the South Pacific's Cook Islands. She's been featured on Animal Planet and The Discovery Channel several times.
Moving To The Cook Islands
Hauser decided that she needed to actually live on Rarotonga, the largest of the Cook Islands, so she could be close to her work and the whales she monitors. There are 21 species of whales and dolphins who call the waters surrounding the Cook Islands home.
On this particular day, Hauser left her house on Rarotonga, suited up, and got ready for another day on the job. She was only in the water for a few minutes when she saw a huge whale in the distance.
Not A Whale She Knew
As the whale got closer, Hauser recognized it as a humpback whale, but this wasn't a whale that she had monitored in the past. The whale was swimming directly at her at a very fast pace. Humpback whales are huge animals. They have the capacity to weigh 40 tons and grow up to 60.
Hauser looked at the whale in front of her and guessed that it was around 50,000 pounds. Normally, swimming with a whale this size wouldn't frighten her, but this whale was acting strange.
Much Too Close For Comfort
Hauser has been in the ocean with whales countless times before. She knew how to act around the humpback to avoid startling or antagonizing him.
At first, Hauser didn't think that there was anything strange or different about this whale. She took a moment to observe the magnificent creature as he swam toward her. The whale swam to the surface to take a breath, and then he got rather uncomfortably close to the marine biologist.
She Didn't Have Her Diving Equipment
Nan doesn't usually make contact with the whales she studies unless they make contact with her first. She told NPR, "instead of swimming past me, he came right toward me, and he didn't stop coming towards me until I was on his head."
At the time, Hauser was just wearing a wetsuit, fins, and a mask and snorkel. She wasn't wearing an oxygen tank, so if the whale pulled her below the surface of the water, things could get disastrous.
Being Harassed By A Whale
Hauser is a skilled and experienced marine biologist who has dedicated her life to respecting and preserving wildlife. She always puts the needs and comfort of the animals first. That means that she doesn't reach out and touch the whales she's working with unless their sick or stranded.
Nan said, "in my head, I was a bit amused since I write Rules and Regulations about whale harassment – and here I was being harassed by a whale."
Holding On To His Big Head
The humpback whale started nudging Hauser to one side. He also started pulling her under the water. At one point, he had her tucked under his pectoral fin as he lifted her out of the water.
Hauser stayed as calm as she possibly could. She knew that she would be safer if she could keep the whale from panicking. Humpback whales are baleen whales, so they eat really small ocean-dwelling creatures. She knew that this whale wouldn't confuse her for a snack.
Afraid For Her Life
The whale started getting more pushy and more aggressive and by this point, Hauser was starting to get scared. The whole encounter had lasted about ten minutes by this point, but Hauser was so scared that it felt like an hour. Hauser admitted that she was fully prepared to lose her life at that moment.
She said, "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 Knew She Had To Stay Calm
Hauser said that she "didn't want to panic because I knew that he would pick up on my fear." She tried to slow down her breathing and relax in the presence of this huge animal.
Once she calmed down, she started thinking about how she was going to get away from the whale. She had her diving team with her, but if the whale decided to pull her under the water, there wasn't much they could do to help her. They would just end up watching in horror as she was being pulled to her death.
Cameras Were At The Ready
Hauser's team was doing research at the time, so they had their cameras with them and they were able to capture this whole encounter on video. The other diver who was in the ocean with Hauser had never filmed whales before this moment, so she didn't know how strange the whale was acting. For all she knew, whales might just always behave like this.
Her crew above the surface was filming with a drone, but when they saw how strange the whale was acting, they stopped filming because they didn't want to film Hauser's death.
An Unfamiliar Situation
As Hauser tried to calmly remove herself from the situation, she kept her eye on the whale to make sure that he wasn't going to catch her off guard. After decades of diving without issue, she had never found herself in such a dire situation.
The whale had begun pushing her further and further away from the boat and she saw her chances of swimming away getting smaller and smaller. Because she was so focused on getting away from the whale, she had no idea what was lurking nearby.
Another Creature In The Water
During all the commotion, Hauser spotted another whale in the distance, miles from the shore. Much like the one she was currently dealing with, this one was demonstrating odd behavior as well and was causing a commotion, slapping its tail against the surface of the water.
The first whale hadn't calmed down yet either and at this point, Hauser was beaten and battered. But then, a third figure began to make itself present from the deep. Hauser assumed that it was another whale until she realized what it really was.
It Wasn't Another Whale
While Hauser was trying with all of her energy to get away from not one but two whales now, she started swimming toward the safety of her team's boat. After taking her eyes off of the whale to check her surroundings, she made a horrifying discovery.
She realized that the tail of the third form in the water was moving from side to side and not up and down like whales' tails do. Being an experienced marine biologist, she knew exactly what was lurking nearby.
Hauser Realized The Truth
As the third creature began making its way toward Hauser, she realized that the troubles with the whale were becoming the least of her worries. It was no whale, and it was coming straight at her.
She recalled, "So my mind quickly went, 'Oh, my gosh!'" But as an expert in marine biology, she could tell what most animals are just by their outline or shape. What was coming towards her was one of the most feared fish in all of the ocean. It was a tiger shark.
A Terrifying Predator
Understandably, Hauser was terrified. After studying the ocean her whole life, she knew exactly how aggressive, fearsome, and deadly tiger sharks are. They have the potential to grow up to 25 feet and weigh almost a ton. This dangerous man-eating shark is second only to the great white shark in fatal attacks on humans.
They can typically be found in the warm waters of the Pacific islands, but they aren't like great whites which will bite and then retreat. These sharks hunt to kill, and one was coming right toward Hauser.
It Could Have Been Deadly
Hauser was now surrounded by three unpredictable creatures, one of which was known to frequently kill humans. Now, she was far less concerned with her problems with the whales and all of her attention was now focused on the shark that could easily attack and kill her.
With few options left and only moments to spare, Hauser did the only thing that was left to do. She and her fellow researcher, a cameraman, made a break back toward the research boat.
Lucky To Be Alive
Everyone was relieved once the two divers managed to escape the shark and make it to the safety of the boat. As Hauser reached the boat, she warned the rest of the crew on board that there was a large tiger shark in the water.
Although exhausted and slightly bruised up, Hauser managed to pull herself onto the deck, thankful to be alive. After catching her breath, it suddenly dawned on her what the first humpback whale had been doing.
Reflecting After The Fact
After calming down, Hauser sat down and watched the footage of her whole ordeal in the water. It was then clear what the whale had been trying to do. It seems that the humpback had actually been trying to warn her about the shark and to get her out of harm's way.
She reflected, "maybe the shark wasn't going to attack me." Instead, "he [the whale] was trying to save my life.” She had just been through a once-in-a-lifetime experience that had been incredibly frightening as it happened.
Thanking Her Humpback Friend
Although Hauser was shaken, she was thankful to be safe and even more thankful for the whale that had been trying to protect her. While the whole crew was recovering from the ordeal, they couldn't believe their eyes. The whale that had tried to save her surfaced next to their boat.
Most likely, the whale was checking in to be sure she was ok. It even gave a friendly spray from its blowhole before diving back in the water. Hauser yelled "I love you too" before the whale disappeared beneath the waves.
Some People Didn't Believe Her
Even Hauser admitted, "I'm a scientist, and if anyone told me this story, I wouldn’t believe it." It wasn't long before news of her incredible experience made headlines worldwide. Yet there were still some scientists who believed that what happened between Hauser and the whale was nothing short of impossible.
However, those same experts that claimed it wasn't possible also didn't fully rule it out. Hauser was confident that her footage proved that something amazing had occurred, something that she thought had never happened before.
An Unforgettable Experience
For almost three decades, Hauser had conducted almost every kind of whale research. From population status and feeding behavior to migration patterns, she had done it all.
As she was so familiar with whales, Hauser was convinced that her footage was truly groundbreaking and captured a historical event. She believed that it showed the first-ever circumstance in which a humpback whale was trying to protect a human from a possible threat.
The Shark Had Been There Before
The news of Hauser's encounter with the shark and whale spread quickly, especially in the local area. It wasn't long before other fishermen and divers reported seeing the same shark that had been harassing Hauser and the whale.
Some other witnesses claimed that they'd seen the shark swimming near the reef and that it was nearly the size of a pickup truck. This made Hauser feel even more grateful that she had survived the horrifying dive.
Advocating For Change
Her footage of the whale and what it had been doing proved to be valuable research material for scientists and other marine biologists to study. However, there wasn't footage of the entire experience, such as when the whale pushed her out of the water.
Nevertheless, her film and testimony helped other marine biologists and the general public gain a better understanding into the minds of these great creatures. Her experience was a valuable lesson to many.
Helping Those Gentle Giants
Hauser would never condone untrained individuals getting into the water with humpback whales. But she does hope that her work will help inspire others to stand up against the poaching of whales and preserving the habitat of whales and all other sea creatures.
To express her point she stated, "it's funny how the tables are turned here: I’ve spent the past 28 years protecting whales, and in the moment, I didn’t even realize that they were protecting me!"
Other Marine Mammals
For centuries, dolphins have been recorded as being highly intelligent and caring ocean mammals. There have been numerous cases in which dolphins have behaved in ways that protect humans from dangerous situations. They've even saved human lives.
However, such cases are essentially unheard of when it comes to whales. Although Hauser has some of the only recorded footage, there is some scientific research that might point to humpbacks having extraordinary kindness when it comes to protecting other animals.
Mother Whales Protect Their Babies
During their migrations, humpback whales travel to the waters of the South Pacific to breed and rear their young during the austral winter. As a species, humpbacks tend to band together in packs, especially when traveling with their young. This is something that is common among other mammals around the world.
With this in mind, it's understandable why the second whale was in the vicinity during Hauser's experience. Although humpbacks were once poached to the verge of extinction, their numbers are thankfully on the rise. Now, to ensure their safety, they band together to protect their young.
Whales Keep The Ocean Safe
Since humpback whales are omnivorous, they're the furthest thing from being predators. In fact, they have even been described as protectors of the ocean and have been known to come to the aid of other species of whales, seals, and dolphins that are under threat by predators.
Nan Hauser explained this concept with an example: "There is a published scientific paper about humpbacks protecting other species of animals, by Robert Pitman [...] "For instance, they hide seals under their pectoral fins to protect them from killer whales."
Did The Humpback Know What He Was Doing?
A 2016 study found 115 recorded instances in the last 62 years in which humpback whales have intervened in attacks in order to save their calves and other species. Humans refer to acts like these as compassion, but scientists refer to it as altruism.
While people like to associate animals with human behavior, Hauser commented that "I tried a lot not to anthropomorphize any of the behavior that I see." Yet, her footage might prove that there is an argument for altruism among these whales.
People Are Still Skeptical
It's possible that the whale thought that Hauser in her wetsuit was a seal or maybe even a baby whale. Regardless, Hauser claims that "whales truly display altruism – sometimes at the risk of losing their own lives."
This is clear, given the fact that humpbacks are willing to hide animals under their fins and put themselves at risk to marine predators seeking them out. There are many recorded instances of this happening in the wild.
All In The Animal Instinct
Although how humpback whales behave toward other wildlife (including Hauser) is still not completely understood, people have theorized that altruism could be an instinct. After all, countless generations of whales have protected their young and their own kind.
It is further believed that they could be instinctively responding to distress signals from other species or just have an intuitive nature to protect. Although there appears to be no clear answer at this particular moment, it's safe to say that Hauser's experience helped open people's eyes to the behavior of these magnificent protectors of the sea.
