Hoo. Santa Cruz surfer Barbara Roettger got way up close and personal with a pod of humpback whales when she unwittingly found herself in the middle of a lunge feeding session; two massive whales popped up right next to the surfer and her kayak friends, seemingly out of nowhere. It’s pretty rad.

Lunge feeding is when the whales herd anchovies to the water’s surface, then shoot out of the water with their mouths open to catch as many of the fish as possible. Roettger and her friends were in the way.

Happily, they came away from the experience unscathed, and with some once-in-a-lifetime footage – although Roettger does say that she, “will now only spectate from the decidedly safer dry land.”

I couldn’t find room for a “having a whale of a time” pun. Sorry for letting the team down.

[Source: DPF]