Whale Shark Performs World's Largest Photo Bomb in the Galapagos Islands

3 days ago
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Dave is a scuba diver from Canada who has explored the waters of Darwin Island in the Galapagos several times. He's with a group of other divers, including his wife, who have come from all over the world to swim with whale sharks, the largest fish in the ocean and one of the largest animals to ever inhabit the earth. They perched themselves on a rock ledge at the base of Darwin's Arch. This area is known as "The Theatre" because whale sharks slowly swim past, giving scuba divers a close look at the gentle giants drifting on the current.
Dave takes a moment to turn on his camera after getting settled on the ledge and he begins to record a selfie. He won't realize until later that there is a giant whale shark drifting right above him as he records. It's actually swimming right through his bubbles, a mere 5m (15 feet) above him. For almost half a minute, he captures what he believes will be uneventful footage. He turns the camera around and notices the whale shark now over his left shoulder, barely moving past. Stunned, he watches it glide through the water until he sees his wife, Kristy swimming out to greet the whale shark. Dave follows, as a good dive buddy must do and he records the beautiful encounter between Kristy and the shark as she films the its massive face.
Kristy lowers her camera and gazes in wonder at the size of this beautiful animal. Whale sharks reach a length of 18m (59feet), similar in size to a school bus or a small submarine. Despite their enormity, they are truly gentle beasts, incapable of intentionally harming a human. After sharing an unforgettable moment with the shark, Kristy turns and swims back to the ledge where she will wait for another majestic whale shark and opportunity to swim with one of the ocean's giants.
Dave didn't realize where the whale shark had come from until he looked at the video clip later and saw that it had snuck up behind him and photo bombed him in the most spectacular way imaginable.

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