Sea Lion's Friends Will Never Believe Story Of His Crazy Whale Encounter

"I hardly had any time to comprehend what I was witnessing."

Even if this sea lion could somehow articulate to his friends, in detail, the events that unfolded one recent day while he was out for a swim, none would believe him.

And it’d be hard to blame them. This one sure sounds like a whopper.

Chase Dekker

OK, so here's what happened.

The sea lion was feeding off the coast of California, as usual, when a group of humpback whales dropped in to do the same — employing their lunging technique to gobble up krill and small fish. Well, during one such open-mouthed lunge, the hapless sea lion found himself directly in one of the whales' path.

Then he wound up in her mouth.

Chase Dekker

"I couldn’t believe it," Chase Dekker, a wildlife photographer who snapped this image of the incredible moment while aboard a Sanctuary Cruises whale-watching vessel, told The Dodo. "These lunge events happen so quick I hardly had any time to comprehend what I was witnessing."

Chances are, the sea lion and whale were in disbelief, too.

Humpback whales don't eat sea lions; in fact, their bodies aren't designed to swallow something so large. And lucky for the sea lion, this whale wasn't interested in trying:

"While I couldn't see when, I am 100 percent confident the sea lion escaped as the whale kept its mouth wide open as it sank back down into the sea," Dekker wrote.

Chase Dekker

Afterward, the whale and sea lion continued to feed — the latter presumably giving his larger counterpart a bit more space following that unbelievable oopsie.

Fortunately, thanks to Dekker's quick camera skills, we have photographic proof of this sea lion's whale of a tale.

"I just did what I always do and that’s aim my camera and shoot in an effort to immortalize this natural event," Dekker said.

Visit Chase Dekker's photography website, or follow him on Facebook and Instagram, to see more of his work.