Man from Saudi Arabia takes ride on whale shark in Red Sea

YANBU: A video of a man from Saudi Arabia riding an endangered whale has left social media users bewildered. The video was captured near the port city of Yanbu in Saudi Arabia, reports the Gulf News.

The shocking scenes were originally shared on Snapchat, before spreading across platforms. A user shared the first clip with the caption, “A man of the sea in Yanbu swims with acrobat fish (sic).”  

pic.twitter.com/MRD9Bo8PFK

— عبدالله العلوني (@alalwaniabdulla) August 16, 2020

In the footage, the man is seen sitting on a boat and watching whale sharks swimming past it. Later, the man jumped on the back of the whale to take a ride and grabbed its dorsal fin for support.

One of the men can be heard shouting, “Careful, it can swallow you,” while another friend cheered him on. The footage was later uploaded on Twitter, where it has divided opinions. The remaining clips show that the man spent a lot of time on the back of the whale in the Red Sea.

pic.twitter.com/R9FMujCdYB

— عبدالله العلوني (@alalwaniabdulla) August 16, 2020

However National Geographic reported that the spices’ favourite meal is plankton. “They scoop these tiny plants and animals up, along with any small fish that happen to be around, with their colossal gaping mouths while swimming close to the water’s surface,” its website stated.

According to National Geographic, the whale shark is the world’s largest fish and can reach a length of 40 feet or more. Whale sharks are listed as ‘endangered’ on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List.