He might not have eyes on opposite sides of his head and might not pair well with saltine crackers, but Shawn Stamback knows exactly how it feels to be a sardine.
The diver was nearly swallowed up like one during a recent whale feeding off the coast of California -- an amazing encounter that was caught on video and has garnered 6.2 million views to date.
Stamback and his scuba diving partner, Francis Antigua, were swimming near their boat on July 20, hoping to observe some feeding whales from afar.
鈥淭he reason we got in the water was to see if we could hear the whales singing,鈥� Stamback told ABC News.
Suddenly, the pair found themselves surrounded by sardines. Hundreds of them.
And they seemed to be in a panic.
鈥淏efore we know it, there鈥檚 all these bait fish just coming straight up in your face,鈥� Stamback said. 鈥淭he first thing that came to mind was, 鈥極h, there's a predator down there chasing them.'"
Before the divers had a chance to react, two humpback whales breached the surface, gobbling up as many of the little fish as they could in giant gulps.
鈥淎ll of a sudden (the sardines) just rushed all to the surface and two humpback whales go right behind them, chasing them all the way to the surface,鈥� Stamback said.
The whales 鈥� which can weigh up to 40 tonnes -- came so close that the men could have been swallowed.
鈥淚 worked my way up to the boat, got up on the back of it as soon as I could,鈥� Stamback said. 鈥淭he other guys said they've never seen me swim that fast before and I can see why now that I've watched the video."
The near miss doesn鈥檛 surprise Caitlin Birdsall, a whale expert from the Vancouver Aquarium.
Summer is typically prime feeding time for humpbacks, she said, noting the whales prefer small fish to scuba divers.
However, they often 鈥渄on鈥檛 appear to be entirely aware of their surroundings,鈥� Birdsall said of the marine mammals.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a good idea that if you suspect these animals might be feeding in the area to not be in the water.鈥�
Stamback isn鈥檛 likely to make that mistake again.
鈥淭he mental sensation was almost like you've escaped death,鈥� he said.
