50,000-Pound Whale Protects Scientist From Tiger Shark & They Reunite A Year Later

Aug 03, 2023

In 2018, one dive gave a marine biologist quite the shock — but it also saved her life. Nan Hauser isn't a stranger to diving down deep with the whales; she's been doing it for over two decades. However, one of her previous dives was different from any other time.

In 2018, Hauser was diving off the coast of Rarotonga, the largest of the Cook Islands in the central South Pacific, when a 15-foot tiger shark appeared. Luckily, a humpback whale protected Hauser and potentially saved her life.

In October of that year, Hauser took a dive into the South Pacific, according to The Independent. Her mission was to be filmed by a camera crew while she swam along with some humpback whales. She had no idea what was about to happen.

One of the beautiful creatures didn't waste any time and swam right up to Hauser. The whale started to nudge her with its chin and mouth. The whale even went as far as to try and place her underneath its fin.

Hauser recalled that the whale wouldn't leave her alone. She tried repeatedly to leave the whale, but the animal just wasn't having it. Eventually, the whale pushed her up to the surface on its fin. She felt that the whale was trying to convey something to her, but she couldn't figure it out.

This went on for over 10 minutes, as the Independent reported. The whale kept on with the act of nudging her and trying to hide her. At this point, Hauser was beginning to panic and feared that she wasn't going to be able to get away.

During an interview on “Ellen,” Hauser talked about how she was making a film, and the director wanted more footage of her underwater, thus leading to the close call with a marine animal. She had spent over two decades studying humpback whales in the Cook Islands and was confused about the behavior of a 50,000-pound whale that simply would not leave her alone.

At one point, Hauser even had the grim thought that her death was going to be caught on camera by the crew. She knew the power of the whale was nothing she could compare to. But she didn't realize that the whale had no intention of hurting her. The animal was actually trying to keep her alive.

Hauser told BBC Earth that she held on “like a little kid” to the whale’s face as he continued to bonk her and push her around. Hauser had no clue, but she was in danger from something she didn't even see — a 15-foot tiger shark coming right toward her.

The whale ultimately helped pull Hauser away from the shark and toward safety, and the animal quickly became her hero. Over a year later, the marine biologist was astonished when she found herself face to face again with the very same whale that had once saved her life.

“I felt love, I felt happiness,” Hauser said as she recalled her rescue. When she realized the whale had been protecting her the entire time, she admitted that she “started to cry.”

“If someone told me this story I wouldn’t believe them,” Hauser said.

What do you think about the actions of the whale? What would you have done if you were in the marine biologist’s shoes? Let us know your thoughts, and be sure to pass this along to your loved ones.