A giant humpback whale was caught on camera helping humans free from a swarm of tiger sharks.
The mammal lifted a diver out of the water in the Pacific Ocean to avoid being attacked by the predator.
It was marine biologist Nan Hauser who had this experience.
The 22-ton whale's head literally popped out of the water to save Hauser from the 4.5-meter-long shark.
The humpback whale repelled the shark with its tail. Meanwhile, Hauser, who was filming the incident, held the whale's head up and swam following the whale's direction.
The 63-year-old woman believes that it is evidence of the whale's instinct to protect other species, including humans.
"At first I had doubts as to why the whale was approaching me, but the fish didn't stop pushing me for more than 10 minutes.
It felt like hours. I was a little hit," said the native of Cook Island, New Zealand.
Hauser himself has been a diver for 28 years and encountered whales. But this was the first time he had met a whale he wanted to ride.
"He wanted so badly to put me on his head, stomach or back. But most amazingly, he tried to tuck and protect me under his big pectoral fins," Hauser said.
Even so, Hauser had to dodge the whale as it swam closer to him. Because, said Hauser, the organs and bones of his body could be destroyed.
"If he manages to hold me under the pectoral fins, I'll drown," he said.
