NathanUnfamiliar Territory
As we have mentioned earlier, this was truly a rare case that none of these people had ever had to deal with. They were all, in their own rights, very well skilled when it comes to swimming and dealing with life underwater. But to get toyed around by a whale was something no one could ever fathom. Even for a skilled swimmer and whale expert like Hauser, who has had her fair share of experiencing life under the ocean, this was something that was out of the ordinary. She had never been stuck in a situation like this. She even went on to say, “I wasn’t sure what the whale was up to when he approached me and it didn’t stop pushing me around for over 10 minutes.”
What Now?
Since she had dealt with multiple fishes and whales in the deep blue seas, Nan knew a thing or two about how to deal with whales when coming face to face with each other. She said in an interview, “I didn’t want to panic, because I knew that he would pick up on my fear.” Hauser said this as she explained what went through her head during the time of the hair-raising situation. She explained further saying,“I feel a very close kinship with animals, so despite my trepidation, I tried to stay calm and figure out how to get away from him.” Most animals act on instinct so she was determined not to frighten him or startle him so that she could go in peace. It was a smart move but would it pay off?
Threats All Around Her
So then as she maintained her cool and made her way away from the huge whale, Nan slowly swam away. it would have been a very frightening situation because one wrong move would have killed her then and there. But her expertise in whales and knowing that she had to remain calm and collected worked in her favor. So slowly she made her way and while she was approaching the boat, Hauser noticed something strange. She caught a sight of a second whale that was a little further ahead of the one next to her. As she looked at the whale it seemed as though he was thrashing at something she first thought of to be another whale with its tail. What would become of her fate now that there were two other whales?
Oh My Gosh
Since she could not make out how the other animals looked like, Nan could not tell what type of whales they were. She first assumed that they were all from the same school. But there was something that Nan could not see clearly from a distance. As the third animal began to swim towards her, she could get a better view and could see how it looked like. “But… the tail fin was going side to side instead of up and down,” she said in an interview, explaining how she felt like during this whole experience. She then added to her story saying “So my mind quickly went, ‘Oh, my gosh.’” It would have been traumatizing to realize that the third whale was not, in fact, a whale but an even scarier underwater animal.
Mind Goes Blank
Imagine finding out that the whale you though was approaching you turns out to be an even deadlier animal. We can only imagine the kind of feeling that Nan must be having when she realized this. It is something that we have seen in movies and is certainly not an incident you would want to experience for yourself. So when we read about this type of incident, we always stay prepared for the worst, but when the time actually comes, in the exact moment, all the things we have ever taught ourselves gets thrown out of the window. We do not remember anything. This is what happened to poor Hauser. She explained that she felt tired and breathless and that her mind went blank. ‘It was as if my mind went totally blank. I couldn’t think of how to get myself out of this’.
Murky Waters
Even though Nan was well versed with these waters, she could not guarantee that she could save herself when this happened. Nothing she had ever learned or experienced could have helped in preparing her to save herself in this moment. Since she had now become quite exhausted after being thrown around by the whale, Nan could not function well anymore. But as her luck would have it, things turned out for the worse as this new animal was even more threatening. If she had made any rash decision and made one wrong turn or movement, she could have easily lost her life. But how could she get out of this difficult situation? What could she have done to save her poor self?