Awesome - This Marine Biologist Swam with Humpback Whales When Something Went Completely Wrong

Whales may be large, but we actually know very little about them. The enormous mammals are incredibly powerful but their behavior is gentle and non-aggressive. There is still a lot we don't know about whales but the experience of one marine biologist has shed some light on the humpback's whale secretive nature.


The marine biologist was swimming off the coasts of Cook Islands in the South Pacific, where she regularly encounters humpback whales. Still, on this occasion, she would experience some exceptionally unusual whale behavior which would change the way she thought about these gentle giants forever.


Read on to find out what happened to her exactly and why this event has had such an impact on the scientific community.





Image by Nan Daeschler Hauser/ Facebook






Meet Nan Hauser



Nan Hauser chose to make it her life's work to study and research whales. At 63-years-old, the marine biologist has spent the last three decades on a mission to help as many whales as she could, fighting for their rights and protection.


Part of her job is documenting the whereabouts of whales, which means that Hauser often gets the chance to swim alongside them. Although these swims are part of her routine, in September 2017, Hauser experienced something altogether unusual. It was an experience that would change the way she thought about her swimming companions forever.





Image by Nan Daeschler Hauser/Facebook






The Summer of 2017



Towards the end of summer in 2017, Hauser was swimming with a research vessel. She was being watched by her colleagues, who were tracking her course with a drone. She also carried a waterproof camera, which enabled her to document her swim near a small pod of humpback whales.


During the shoot, a male whale began to swim towards her. The mammal must have weighed over 23 tons and was at least 50 feet in length. Swimming towards a human is unusual behavior and Hauser was nervous about what would happen next.





Image via @nanhauser/IG

Advertisement





Something's Wrong



Swimming with whales is not considered a dangerous activity and it is usually the human who approaches the whale.


Being a whale expert, Hauser was naturally caught off guard when the male whale began rushing towards her. This was unusual behavior. There was suddenly a moment when she realized that she was not able to get out of its path. She captured the whale with her camera when it suddenly dawned on her that she was about to collide with earth's largest mammal.





Image by Nan Daeschler Hauser/ Facebook





Trapped



Hauser had been swimming with whales for years and completed hundreds of research swims over the span of her career as a marine biologist. In all her time as a conservationist, however, she had never seen behavior like this.


As the whale approached, she realized that something was, indeed, very wrong. The whale was on track to collide with her body and then… BAM. Hauser was pinned to the his head and still the whale continued to swim. What was going on?





Image by Nan Daeschler Hauser/ Facebook


c



Fear



Hauser tried desperately to escape but the whale continued to ram into her and pushed her further away from the boat. Even when she attempted to swim to one side, the whale would not let her go.


Not only had Hauser never experienced anything like this, she had never heard of anything like this happening either. She had no idea what to do and began to fear for her life. The force of the whale's movements and its strength were enough to seriously injure her, and she couldn't understand why he was doing so.





Image by Nan Daeschler Hauser/ Facebook





The Mighty Mammal



Hauser eventually realized that trying to escape would only make matters worse. If she moved in the wrong direction and the whale pushed harder, she risked serious injury and even death.


But if the whale continued to ram into her, she risked breaking bones and damaging her internal organs. But this was only the beginning. There was one thing which terrified her even more, and as moments went by it seemed more and more likely that it would become her fate.





Image by Nan Daeschler Hauser/ Facebook






One Wrong Move



Humpback whales are not known for aggressive behavior but they are extremely powerful animals. If Hauser was hit by a flipper or a tail, she would be knocked unconscious and would likely drown.


She did her best to avoid any dramatic movement, as this would only increase her chance of being hit by the muscular appendages. Although she feared her life was in danger, Hauser did her best to keep calm and began to formulate an escape plan.





Image by Nan Daeschler Hauser/ Facebook





Escape Plan



Hauser decided that the closer she stayed to the whale's head, the safer she would be. Humpbacks do not have teeth and instead have sheets of soft baleen in their mouth. The further away she stayed from the flippers and tail, the better.


Nevertheless, it was still crucial that she escaped as quickly as possible. She committed herself to staying calm so as not to make any sudden movements and startle the whale, causing it to change its own behavior.





Image by Nan Daeschler Hauser/ Facebook






Terrified



Hauser has a fear of spiders. She jokes that although she is terrified of tiny arachnids, she will quite happily swim with powerful sea mammals that could easily crush her if they wished.


Hauser may usually swim fearlessly with whales but at this point in time, she was petrified. The whale's behavior was going against everything she had ever known about these creatures. She couldn't help but shake the feeling that something was terribly wrong, because this occurrence shouldn't have be happening.





Image by Nan Daeschler Hauser/ Facebook






Committed to Research



As a marine biologist, Nan Hauser has always been committed to her research. This commitment was still present in what could very well have been her final moments. In spite of the horrifying situation she was in, Hauser continued to photograph the whale while she attempted to wiggle free.


Back on the boat, Hauser's crew was following the situation with the drone. They knew that something was wrong but were equally helpless. At this point, Hauser feared that the photographs she was taking would prove to be a documentation of her final moments on Earth.





Image by Nan Daeschler Hauser/ Facebook





All by Herself



When the whale rammed into Hauser, she wasn't the only person swimming in the water. Her diving buddy was also in the water, but had no idea that something went wrong.


Hauser was doing such an excellent job at keeping calm that he could not see that she was in need of help. That being said, even if she had been able to signal for help, there was nothing that her friend could have done. The whale was far too big and ultimately, Hauser was entirely alone in her fight for her life.





Image by Nan Daeschler Hauser/ Facebook






The Open Ocean



The whale continued to ram into Hauser, dragging her further and further away from the boat. By now, the research vessel was quite some distance away and Hauser would soon find herself abandoned in the open ocean.


Usually, Hauser would never even think to touch a whale, sharing the whale's attitude of letting each other be. On this occasion, however, the whale wasn't just touching her, but was actively bumping into her. And in doing so, it was pushing her further away.


But then, all of a sudden, it became apparent that Hauser and the whale were not alone after all…





Image by Nan Daeschler Hauser/ Facebook






Another Whale



Hauser noticed from the corner of her eye that another humpback had joined them. This was not a huge surprise, given that whales are social creatures and tend to travel in pods.


What was surprising, was the fact that this other whale was behaving unusually as well. It may not have been pushing her further into the ocean, but she could still tell that something was not quite right with it. What on earth was happening and would Hauser be able to free herself from this horrific situation?





Image by Nan Daeschler Hauser/ Facebook






Lashing Out



As time went on, Hauser began to realize that the second whale was in fact acting as bizarrely as the first. It kept slapping the surface of the water with its tail and then suddenly, it lashed out at something behind it.


As Hauser was dragged further into the ocean, she watched as the whale continued to lash out at something she could not see. It was clearly agitated and was acting in a way she had never experienced before. She felt lost.





Image by Nan Daeschler Hauser/ Facebook






Injury



The whole time she was being pushed into the open ocean, Hauser was getting bumped and bruised. It had been ten minutes since the whale had initially rammed into her and her body was aching and sore from the rough barnacles on the whale's skin where it touched her.


She was unsure whether the whale was intending to attack her but either way, she was badly hurt. When she looked back at the second humpback's behavior, however, she began to suspect what was happening.





Image by Nan Daeschler Hauser/ Facebook





Determined



For what was now fifteen minutes, the humpback had kept Hauser close to its body and had resisted her attempts to escape. No matter how many times she tried to swim sideways, he would not give in.


It was at this point that Hauser began to understand the source of his unusual behavior. There was something else in the water. If she wanted to live, she would need to escape as quickly as possible. And yet the whale still would not ease off.





Image by Nan Daeschler Hauser/ Facebook






The Penny Drops



Behind the second whale, Hauser caught sight of another creature lurking in the water. It was not another humpback whale, but something far more ominous… a tiger shark.


Tiger sharks, nicknamed "man-eating shark", are known to be brutal predators. This particular shark was 15 feet in length, which is larger than average. It was then that the penny dropped, so to speak.


The whales were not attacking her, they were trying to protect her from the hugely dangerous predator behind her.





Image by Nan Daeschler Hauser/ Facebook






Underwater Killers



People often assume that great white sharks are the most dangerous sharks in the ocean. The writers of Jaws can be blamed for that. In reality, great whites are rare and are actually more manageable and less likely to attack for no reason.


Tiger sharks, on the other hand, are known for continuously attacking their victim. This makes them far more dangerous than great whites, who usually take a bite out of their prey and then leave.


Both Hauser and her diving buddy were within reach of a dangerously large tiger shark which was relentlessly chasing them. That was when Hauser decided to make a dash for the boat.





Image by skeeze/ Pixabay





The Great Escape



In an adrenaline fueled dash, Hauser and her dive buddy successfully managed to break loose from the whales and reached their boat in the nick of time.


Once she had pulled herself on board, Hauser informed the crew that there was a tiger shark nearby. She explained that the whales had not been attacking her, but were in fact trying to save her form the shark.


She felt exhilarated having survived an incredibly frightening situation. And that was when she noticed something else.





Image by Nan Daeschler Hauser/ Facebook






Returning the Favor



Once she had calmed down, Hauser walked over the ship's railing. Below her, the male humpback whale that had tried to save her was waiting patiently. It appeared that he was waiting to see whether she was safe before returning to sea.


When he saw her stand at the railing, he let out a single burst of water from its blowhole and swam away. Hauser could not help but feel like he truly had been protecting her, just as she had dedicated her life to trying to protect him and the other whales.


Now it was time to piece the experience together and analyze what she had learned.





Image by Nan Daeschler Hauser/ Facebook






Confirming What She Already Knew



Hauser reviewed her own footage along with that of her diving buddy, as well as the drone on deck. Upon examining the recordings, she learned that her instinct had been correct.


The whale had rammed into her when the shark appeared and had kept her close to him to protect her from the imminent threat. This fit in perfectly with what Hauser already knew about humpback whales, but she had never heard of anything quite like this heroic act.





Image by Nan Daeschler Hauser/ Facebook






Underwater Heroes



Hauser was able to contextualize her experience thanks to the huge body of documentation about these creatures.


In 2016, 115 documented cases from the last 60 years were compiled into a study. Each case reported an incident of a humpback whale actively working to rescue their own calves. In some of these instances, the whales were rescuing creatures from other species, like dolphins and seals. Now, the marine biologist could be added to the list of animals who owe their life to these great heroes of the sea.





Image by Nan Daeschler Hauser/ Facebook






A Unique Case



Since the 2016 study, researchers have familiarized themselves with the behavior of humpback whales when it comes to protecting other creatures from danger. The marine ecologist Robert Pitman once witnessed a humpback flinging a seal into the water to save it from a pod of killer whales.


Still, Nan Hauser's case was unique because this was the first time a humpback had been recorded saving a human being. Unfortunately, some members of the scientific community remained skeptical of her report.





Image by Nan Daeschler Hauser/ Facebook






Conflicting Ideas



Some scientists were delighted by the case and believed that Hauser was right to conclude that the humpback was trying to protect her from the danger the tiger shark presented.


Other scientists, however, claimed that it was impossible to know what the humpback's true intentions were. They supposed that it could have been acting out for all kinds of reasons and it may well be that the shark's presence in the water was not related to the humpback's behavior at all.


But whatever the critics said, Hauser was sure of what had happened and trusted her instinct.





Image by Nan Daeschler Hauser/ Facebook





Strong Evidence



Hauser's experience was incredibly rare which is why it is so lucky that she was able to capture the entire thing on camera. In addition to her own footage, her diving buddy had some photos and there was footage taken on the boat and taken by the drone.


For Hauser, the extent of the evidence made her theory difficult to dispute. The whale's behavior fits neatly into our broader understanding of humpback behavior and the footage clearly indicates that he was moving her away from the shark.





Image by Nan Daeschler Hauser/ Facebook






Altruistic Creatures



Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human characteristics to animals. For example, people often think that elephants looks sad and dolphins look happy, by wrongly inserting human emotions.


To call the humpback "compassionate" or "empathetic" would be a mistake of this kind. Instead, Hauser considers the whale to be altruistic. Compassion is very much a human emotion whereas altruism has several socio-biological explanations and is documented in countless species in addition to humans.





Image by Nan Daeschler Hauser/ Facebook





Compassion or Altruism?



There are many differences between compassion and altruism. The marine ecologist Robert Pitmas explained that there are several factors which determine which category behavior falls into.


When humans protect animals from danger, they often do so out of compassion. We sympathize with animals and wish to protect them because we see them as living things which suffer.


The humpback, on the other hand, likely protected Hauser because she reminded him of his offspring, which he has a strong instinct to protect. This natural instinct results in altruistic action.





Image by Nan Daeschler Hauser/ Facebook





Back in the Water



Only four days after almost dying, Hauser returned to the water to dive off the shores of Rarotonga. It shaped up to be an ordinary dive, until a female humpback swam towards her.


Hauser turned towards the female, curious to see what would happen next. She was not charging like the humpback had done just a few days before, and it seemed very unlikely that she would actually touch her. To even approach Hauser in this way was extremely uncommon behavior.





Image by Nan Daeschler Hauser/ Facebook






A Whale of a Hug



The female humpback swam a few feet beneath Hauser and then spread her pectoral fins around her. It was as if she were giving her a giant underwater hug.


As it happened, it was Hauser's birthday and she couldn't have asked for a better gift. Over the past few days, two whales had shown her love and care in a way she had never experienced before. If Hauser ever needed reassurance that she had chosen the right career path, these reactions from the humpbacks were more than she could hope for.


Regardless of how you interpret her story, it's hard to deny that something special happened that day and that humpback whales truly are magnificent creatures.





Image by Nan Daeschler Hauser/ Facebook





Cook Islands



Back in 2017, Nan Hauser had set up base in the largest of the Cook Islands, Rarotonga, in the South Pacific.


It was there that Hauser chose to set up the Center for Cetacean Research and Conservation. By 2001, the Cook Islands declared their whale sanctuary would extend 200 nautical miles in each direction from the shore. This was largely thanks to Hauser's hard work and a petition that she pushed back in the early 2000s. Now, whales could safely roam the area without fear of being hunted or attacked.