Giant whale shark 'videobombs' tourists swimming in the Philippines

Close encounter! Moment giant whale shark ‘videobombs’ kids swimming in Philippines

  • Footage from a group of tourists shows the gentle giants ‘videobomb’ them
  • Milkie Espinosa Rodrigo and her friends swam in Oslob, Cebu City, Philippines
  • She said: ‘It was an incredible, amazing, once-in-a-lifetime experience’

This is the spectacular moment a huge whale shark ‘videobombed’ a tourist group’s vlog in the Philippines.

The footage from Milkie Espinosa Rodrigo and her friends shows the gentle giant approaching the group as they swam in Oslob, Cebu City, at the weekend.

Oslob is a small coastal town that is famous for the whale sharks that roam its seas.

Milkie said of the fantastic moment: ‘It was a bit scary at first as the shark seemed a little too friendly.

‘They kept coming close even when we shooed them away.

‘We’ve been wanting to do this for years and we were finally able to push the trip through despite the pandemic.

‘It was an incredible, amazing, once-in-a-lifetime experience.’

The footage of the group of friends swimming in the sea of Oslob, Cebu City, Philippines shows the gentle giant approaching them as it goes up to the surface

In the footage, filmed on November 28, the group hold onto the wooden beams attached to either side of the boat and wave to the camera above and under the water.

As the camera becomes submerged, the shadow of a whale shark can be seen looming in the background.

A smaller whale shark can be seen putting their open mouth to the surface, which the species does to filter out plankton.

Then the larger whale shark looms into view to the right of the shot. 

The group held onto the wooden beams attached to either side of the boat, as pictured, as they are filmed waving to the camera above and under the water

Experts say that these sharks pose no significant danger to humans as their diet consists of plankton and tiny fish

At first, members of the group move away from the animal but soon realise they are not in danger and move back towards it. 

Whale sharks are classified as the largest fish on the planet. They grow up to 39-feet-long, and can live for up to 150 years.

But they are endangered and classified as a threatened species on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species. 

Experts say that these sharks pose no significant danger to humans as their diet consists of plankton and tiny fish.  

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