A man had a chance encounter with the largest shark species in the world, a whale shark, and he says he won the “diver’s lottery.” Speaking to Newsweek about his Reddit post sharing photos of his exciting experience, Ivan said he was on a boat coming back from a scuba diving trip in the Red Sea when the captain alerted passengers to the possibility of a whale shark swimming nearby. Ivan jumped into the water and the whale shark swam right below him.
The man said he will remember that moment for “the rest of my days.”
Other Reddit users agree that this is an incredible encounter to have randomly. Most people who end up swimming with these sharks go out and search for the animals intentionally.
One person wrote: “Wow thank your lucky stars amazing find! Beautiful star constellation in the water, they are such magnificent animals.”
Another said: “Random whale shark is a once in a few lifetime[s] experience.”
See the diver’s whale shark photos here:
Ivan also shared a video with Newsweek, which you can watch here.