‘About as big as they come’: Video shows Florida man swimming with massive whale shark

Mike Ross went out on a spearfishing trip Thursday off the coast of Naples and got the experience of a lifetime.

On Facebook, the fisherman wrote that he spent 30 minutes swimming with a “massive whale shark.”

Video shows the creature gliding gracefully in the water.

His followers were duly impressed.

One wrote: “Epic, dude!”

Another asked: “Why can’t we ever get this lucky?”

One friend mentioned that the shark seemed to be moving slowly and Ross responded that it was not an illusion. The sea creature, the largest fish in the world, does not move at the rapid pace that many sharks do.

The tropical fish typically swims close to the surface with its mouth wide open, and it feeds mostly by scooping up plankton.

According to National Geographic, whale sharks are “docile,” and do not mind human contact.

“The shark was completely unfazed by our presence,” Ross told the Miami Herald. “They are gentle giants.”

The 25-year-old Naples resident estimates he was in about 110 feet of water at the time of the sighting.

As for the creature’s size?

“About as big as they come,” he said. “About 40 feet.”

Was he nervous to be so close to something so immense?

“Not at all,” Ross said. “It was massive swimming next to it. Awe-inspiring is an understatement.”

This story was originally published November 2, 2018 at 4:24 PM.