Video captures hero whale saving Maine snorkeler from shark attack

http://bangordailynews.com/2018/01/08/outdoors/video-captures-hero-whale-saving-maine-snorkeler-from-shark-attack/

A Maine woman is saying her video of being protected by a humpback whale from a threatening shark is the first such evidence of whales’ protective nature, according to the British newspaper The Daily Mirror.

Whale biologist Nan Hauser, 63, a Brunswick native, was snorkeling alongside the 50,000-pound whale when it moved to keep her from a nearby shark, by nudging her with its head, tucking her under its giant pectoral fin and even reportedly lifting her out of the water at one point.

The incident, which took place in the waters near the Cook Islands in the South Pacific in October, is now being circulated widely on social media and by news outlets.

Hauser said the whale’s behavior worried her at first, as she could have gotten seriously hurt by the massive animal. It was only later that she noticed a large tiger shark lurking, and realized the whale seemed to be laboring to keep her away from it.

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