July 30, 2009: Whale Tale

xoxoxoBruce · 07-30-2009, 12:00 AM

Got a whale of a tale to tell ya, lads
A whale of a tale or two
'Bout the flappin' fish and the girls I've loved
On nights like this with the moon above
A whale of a tale and it's all true
I swear by my tattoo

But that's for another time.

This whale tale happened in Harbin, north-east China.

Quote:

It looks like a moment of terror - a diver finds her leg clamped in the jaws of a beluga whale. In fact, it was a stunning example of an animal coming to the rescue of a human life.

Yang Yun, 26, was taking part in a free diving contest without breathing equipment among the whales in a tank of water more than 20ft deep and chilled to Arctic temperatures. She says that when she tried to return to the surface, she found her legs crippled by cramp from the freezing cold. At that point Mila the beluga took a hand, or rather a flipper.

At depths of 20ft and below, the water pressure keeps a body down, particularly if, as in this case, the limbs are effectively paralysed by the cold.
Reliving the drama, Yang Yun said: 'I began to choke and sank even lower and I thought that was it for me - I was dead. 'Until I felt this incredible force under me driving me to the surface.'

Or Mila didn't want any dead girls littering her tank.

link

Scriveyn · 07-30-2009, 01:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

... At that point Mila the beluga took a hand, or rather a flipper. ...

While the photographer wouldn't lift a finger, except to press the camera buttons.

Pie · 07-30-2009, 10:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scriveyn

While the photographer wouldn't lift a finger, except to press the camera buttons.

Guessing it's an automated camera. Electronics don't care as much.

DucksNuts · 07-30-2009, 04:35 AM

Way cooler if they were out in the ocean, but pretty nifty.

capnhowdy · 07-30-2009, 06:56 AM

20 Feet? I guess one can drown in a lot shallower water.

ajaccio · 07-30-2009, 09:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by capnhowdy

20 Feet? I guess one can drown in a lot shallower water.

Pass out in a 2" puddle and you can drown...

Shawnee123 · 07-30-2009, 08:23 AM

Ocean creatures (even when displaced) are the coolest.

"The albatross and the whales, they are my brothers."

wolf · 07-30-2009, 09:42 AM

Was her father the keeper of the Eddystone light?

newtimer · 07-30-2009, 10:24 AM

...or maybe the whale was in the mood for some Chinese today.

glatt · 07-30-2009, 10:48 AM

Or maybe the 20 foot deep "tank" was an aquarium with an observation window, and the photographer was outside the tank.

Clodfobble · 07-30-2009, 01:09 PM

How in the world do people swim that deep? My ears are in agony by the time I'm ten feet under.

glatt · 07-30-2009, 01:46 PM

What's amazing are the submarine evacuation training tanks the Navy has. You have no air tank, just a hood. They open a hatch at the bottom of one of these towers, and you swim the hundred feet or so to the top.

Shawnee123 · 07-30-2009, 01:35 PM

Dove to 110 feet once...you gotta hold your nose and pop your ears. One of the foam drink holders (our instructor brought it along to show us) was compressed to the size of a pencil.

Shawnee123 · 07-30-2009, 02:21 PM

Wow. The only difference would be not needing decompression!

Oh, and I so want to try it.

glatt · 07-30-2009, 02:25 PM

Well, in the Navy tank, you are breathing compressed air in the chamber at the bottom, and when you swim up to the top, you have to exhale (scream) the whole time so you don't burst from the expanding air in your lungs.

07-30-2009, 06:56 AM	#5
capnhowdy Blatantly Homosapien Join Date: Mar 2004 Posts: 6,200	20 Feet? I guess one can drown in a lot shallower water. __________________ Please type slowly. I can't read very fast............... and no holy water, please.

07-30-2009, 08:23 AM	#7
Shawnee123 Why, you're a regular Alfred E Einstein, ain't ya? Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 21,206	Ocean creatures (even when displaced) are the coolest. "The albatross and the whales, they are my brothers." __________________ A word to the wise ain't necessary - it's the stupid ones who need the advice. --Bill Cosby

07-30-2009, 09:42 AM	#8
wolf lobber of scimitars Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Phila Burbs Posts: 20,774	Was her father the keeper of the Eddystone light? __________________ wolf eht htiw og "Conspiracies are the norm, not the exception." --G. Edward Griffin The Creature from Jekyll Island High Priestess of the Church of the Whale Penis

07-30-2009, 01:09 PM	#11
Clodfobble UNDER CONDITIONAL MITIGATION Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 20,012	How in the world do people swim that deep? My ears are in agony by the time I'm ten feet under. __________________ My book My other book My spirit animal

07-30-2009, 01:46 PM	#12
glatt ™ Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Arlington, VA Posts: 27,717	What's amazing are the submarine evacuation training tanks the Navy has. You have no air tank, just a hood. They open a hatch at the bottom of one of these towers, and you swim the hundred feet or so to the top. Attached Images

07-30-2009, 04:35 AM	#4
DucksNuts Bitchy Little Brat Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Queensland, Australia Posts: 5,067	Way cooler if they were out in the ocean, but pretty nifty.

07-30-2009, 10:24 AM	#9
newtimer Operations Operative Join Date: Apr 2008 Posts: 479	...or maybe the whale was in the mood for some Chinese today.

07-30-2009, 10:48 AM	#10
glatt ™ Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Arlington, VA Posts: 27,717	Or maybe the 20 foot deep "tank" was an aquarium with an observation window, and the photographer was outside the tank.

07-30-2009, 01:35 PM	#13
Shawnee123 Why, you're a regular Alfred E Einstein, ain't ya? Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 21,206	Dove to 110 feet once...you gotta hold your nose and pop your ears. One of the foam drink holders (our instructor brought it along to show us) was compressed to the size of a pencil. __________________ A word to the wise ain't necessary - it's the stupid ones who need the advice. --Bill Cosby

07-30-2009, 02:21 PM	#14
Shawnee123 Why, you're a regular Alfred E Einstein, ain't ya? Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 21,206	Wow. The only difference would be not needing decompression! Oh, and I so want to try it. __________________ A word to the wise ain't necessary - it's the stupid ones who need the advice. --Bill Cosby

07-30-2009, 02:25 PM	#15
glatt ™ Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Arlington, VA Posts: 27,717	Well, in the Navy tank, you are breathing compressed air in the chamber at the bottom, and when you swim up to the top, you have to exhale (scream) the whole time so you don't burst from the expanding air in your lungs.

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