![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/0_GettyImages-500303264.jpg\")
The man was exploring in a kayak when the huge creature approached (stock image)(Image: Getty Images)<\/p>\nA man has described himself as ‘lucky’ after spotting a 25 foot creature pick up the pace and rapidly swim towards him while he was out on the open water in a small kayakThe man was exploring in a kayak when the huge creature approached (stock image)(Image: Getty Images)<\/p>\n
A man kayaking in Scotland described himself as \u201clucky\u201d when he spotted a giant creature swimming quickly towards his boat. The ocean is home to more than 240,000 known marine species, with countless others constantly being discovered<\/a>.<\/p>\n When out in the sea, spotting a fin breaching the surface and heading towards you is, understandably, a cause of fear and anxiety with many people terrified of being attacked by a shark<\/a>. Shark attacks on humans are rare, with most cases being due to people being mistakenly identified as a fish or a seal. Sharks are incredibly important for the overall health of the ocean and help ensure a balanced ecosystem. Their presence in the sea is indicative of a healthy ocean<\/a>.<\/p>\n Still, spotting one may still instil panic. Outdoor lover Sebastian was kayaking in Scotland when he saw a \u201chuge fin coming towards\u201d him which turned out to be a \u201c25 foot shark\u201d.<\/p>\n It was a basking shark, the second-largest living shark and fish in the ocean – after the whale shark. These gentle giants feed on plankton.<\/p>\n In a video captured on his Go-Pro camera, Sebastian can be seen sitting in a kayak as the huge fin swims rapidly towards him.<\/p>\n He leaves his hand dangling in the water as the shark swims along the side of his boat, coming within touching distance of him.<\/p>\n In the caption accompanying the video, which he shared on TikTok, Sebastian penned: \u201cImagine you\u2019re out kayaking and you see a huge fin coming towards you and then realise it\u2019s a 25 foot shark coming right at you.<\/p>\n \u201cIncredibly lucky to have this huge animal come right up to the kayak!\u201d<\/p>\n Content cannot be displayed without consent<\/p>\n Sebastian made sure not to touch the shark, though. He added: \u201cFor clarification it\u2019s an offence to intentionally disturb wildlife in Scotland and this video was filmed at a safe respectful distance as I observed the shark feeding.<\/p>\n \u201cI was sat still for a prolonged period of time before the shark came over towards the kayak and continued to feed behind me and I left the area once it passed me. My hand is in the water as I was filming with a GoPro as it went past. I was not trying to touch the animal and I would never condone anyone to touch a wild animal.\u201d<\/p>\n The video has, so far, been viewed more than 4.3 million times. In the comments section, people were keen to share their thoughts.<\/p>\n One person said: \u201cAnd you left your hand in the water?!!!! I\u2019m sorry sir were you trying to be the starter for his 3 course meal?!!\u201d<\/p>\n Another said: \u201cNope, I don’t care if it\u2019s the friendliest shark in the world. Anything that big approaching me when I’m in a tiny wee boat would give me instant death.”<\/p>\n A third quipped: \u201cI get my hand out of the water what the hell guy.” Sebastian replied: \u201cNeed that GoPro shot.”<\/p>\n Someone else asked: \u201cI know it\u2019s a basking shark, but did your heart stop when you saw that fin?\u201d<\/p>\n Sebastian said: \u201cHaha if I wasn\u2019t in Scotland yes.”<\/p>\n Another TikTok user commented: \u201cEven though it\u2019s a basking shark, the Jaws theme music would automatically kick in as soon as I saw the fin.\u201d<\/p>\n And another said: \u201cBasking shark! Pretty rare to see them like this,” while someone else joked: \u201cJaws theme with bagpipes.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A man has described himself as ‘lucky’ after spotting a 25 foot creature pick up the pace and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":393092,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3847],"tags":[728,70,449,16,15,416,1717],"class_list":{"0":"post-393091","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wildlife","8":"tag-environment","9":"tag-science","10":"tag-tiktok","11":"tag-uk","12":"tag-united-kingdom","13":"tag-viral","14":"tag-wildlife"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115137258801389266","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/393091","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=393091"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/393091\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/393092"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=393091"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=393091"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=393091"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}