• News
  • Film and TV
  • Music
  • Tech
  • Features
  • Celebrity
  • Politics
  • Weird
  • Community
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
TikTok
YouTube
Submit Your Content
Whale engulfs two people kayaking but thankfully they survived

Home> News

Published 16:22 10 Jun 2023 GMT+1

Whale engulfs two people kayaking but thankfully they survived

People are flooding to social media in disbelief over footage of two kayakers being fully engulfed by a humpback whale.

Poppy Bilderbeck

Poppy Bilderbeck

People are flooding to social media in disbelief over footage of two kayakers being fully engulfed by a humpback whale.

Julie McSorley and Liz Cottriel were kayaking off the coast of Avila Beach, California when they caught sight of some whales.

Despite spotting some whales 30 feet away, the whale watchers got much more than they bargained for, getting a lot more up close and personal with the whales than they ever expected they would.

Warning: Contains footage some may find upsetting:

Advert



The clip - recorded and first posted on social media in 2020 - shows ripping blue sea, soaring birds and various kayakers dotted around near Avila Beach.

Advert

McSorley and Cottriel can be seen in their kayak, paddling away, however, the picturesque image soon takes a dark turn as something rises from beneath the surface of the waves.

A whale emerges from the water, it's mouth gaping open and over the two kayakers, appearing to swallow them before slinking off under the sea again.

Miraculously, McSorley and Cottriel both survived.

The whale engulfs both kayakers.
TikTok/ @californiamammabear

Advert

Recalling the moment she realised something was wrong, McSorley told Fox 26 News: "I saw the big pool of fish, the big bait ball come up out of the water. I saw the whale come up. I thought, 'Oh no! It's too close'.

"The whale was right here in my face, literally."

"All of a sudden, I lifted up, and I was in the water. I'm thinking to myself, 'I'm gonna push. Like, I'm gonna push a whale out of the way! It was the weirdest thought. I'm thinking, 'I'm dead. I'm dead.' I thought it was gonna land on me. Next thing I know, I'm under water."

The whale dragged the pair underwater.
TikTok/ @californiamummabear

Advert

Other kayakers immediately rushed over to the pair after they surfaced to bring them to safety.

McSorley reflects: "They were telling us, ‘You were in the mouth, you were in the whale’s mouth!'

"But we didn’t have any idea at that time. And it didn’t really hit us until we watched the video later."

Other kayakers rushed to help.
TikTok/ @californiamummabear

Advert

It didn't take long for the video of the pair being engulfed by the whale to go viral on social media.

One Twitter user wrote: "I watched it multiple times and every time I was like 'No. - No. No. No. No. No.'"

"Now try and tell me Jonah and the whale is fake," another commented.

A third added: "New fear unlocked."

Advert

And a final simply resolved: "Wow, that's a whale of a tale!"

Featured Image Credit: TikTok / @californiamammabear

Topics: Animals, US News, Viral, Social Media, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter

Poppy Bilderbeck
Poppy Bilderbeck

Poppy Bilderbeck is a Senior Journalist at LADbible Group. She graduated from The University of Manchester in 2021 with a First in English Literature and Drama, where alongside her studies she was Editor-in-Chief of The Tab Manchester. Poppy is most comfortable when chatting about all things mental health, is proving a drama degree is far from useless by watching and reviewing as many TV shows and films as possible and is such a crisp fanatic the office has been forced to release them in batches.

Advert

Advert

Advert

Choose your content:

5 hours ago
6 hours ago
7 hours ago
  • 5 hours ago

    'Ozempic economy' explained as research suggests drug could save US taxpayers $173,000,000,000 a year

    The diabetes drug could help to reform the US economy

    News
  • 6 hours ago

    Legendary actor Michael Madsen has died aged 67

    Madsen was best known for his roles in Reservoir Dogs and Kill Bill

    Film & TV
  • 7 hours ago

    Kanye West has been banned from entering Australia over one of his songs

    Kanye West will not be touring in Australia anytime soon

    Celebrity
  • 7 hours ago

    Donald Trump makes shocking threat to deport New York mayor candidate Zohran Mamdani

    Zohran Mamdani has responded to the POTUS' threats against him

    News
  • People left gobsmacked after White House posts bizarre video in response to NATO chief calling Trump 'daddy'
  • YouTuber IShowSpeed jumps over high-speed car in death defying stunt as people say he’s ‘risking his life for content’
  • Horrifying simulation shows what happens to your body if you are swallowed by a whale
  • Newly released picture claims to show ‘1,000-foot-wide UFO’ but people think they’ve found an embarrassing mistake