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A humpback whale swallowed and quickly regurgitated a 15-year-old male kayaker, leaving him physically unharmed. Near Catalina Island, the whale held the teen for 10 seconds before releasing him. Greg Greenfield came out of the incident Sunday shaken, but safe.
“I thought I was dead,” Greg Greenfield said. “I thought that it had eaten me, that it had swallowed me.”
Coast Guard officer John Grecko picked him up shortly after.
His father, George Greenfield, took him to urgent care where doctors found no injuries from the incident. Kayaking with his son, George Greenfield recorded the entire incident from about 10 yards away, with his camera already facing Greg Greenfield at the time of the attack.
The video has since gone viral, with people in admiration of the father’s calm demeanor and commentary repeating to himself to stay calm.
“It was scary, but I didn’t want Greg to panic, so I focused on that,” George Greenfield said.
Whale attacks on humans are extremely rare in California waters. Greg and George have been kayaking for four years and would have never expected this scare.
Santa Catalina Island, about 22 miles off the Southern California coast, is a popular tourist spot for scuba diving and snorkeling. Whale deaths from collisions with cargo ships have increased in recent years, which may make encounters even rarer.