Blue Whale Deadly 60 Bites

'On Deadly 60, I've had loads of incredible animal encounters.

'Here's just one of my many favourites.

'This is Deadly 60 Bites.'

Whoa!

'My crew and I are on a mission of massive proportions.

'We're in Sri Lanka,

'to find the largest animal ever known to have lived,

'the blue whale.

'My hope is to freedive with them,

'with both Johnny and I filming on underwater cameras.'

Hold on to your hats!

'The plan is to predict where we think the whales will come up,

'and make sure we're there waiting for them.

'But with the whales moving at 20mph,

'that's a tough task.'

-There, though, there, right over there!

-Get the gear up.

'Suddenly the whale surfaces, just metres away from us.'

'An animal I've waited a lifetime to encounter.

'Very few people have ever managed to film them underwater.

'It's a vast, blue shape in the crystal-clear seas.

'Sunlight dapples its flanks.

'It cruises past, barely seeming to move at all.

'But no Olympic swimmer could ever keep pace.'

'Both the whales and I have to surface to breathe,

'but while I can dive for just minutes,

'whales can disappear for an hour or more.'

'This is our big chance. It's diving right in front of me.'

'The tail flukes can be as broad as a bus,

'yet swoosh past my eyes mere metres away.

'It's disappearing to impossible depths

'in search of krill to feed on,

'and my lungs are bursting.'

HE GASPS

'Johnny and I head back to the big boat to check our shots.

'But before we have a chance, another whale surfaces.

'And this one is right alongside us.

'We get kitted up in record time,

'and jump straight off in hot pursuit.'

At first, we think we might have missed it.

'But then it practically swims over the top of us.'

'This whale's more relaxed, less eager to return to the depths.

'For a few seconds, we have the privilege of sharing the seas

'with a true marine marvel,

'as it blows out bad air and gulps in oxygen.'

'I've never felt so tiny in my whole life.'

'Then its nose drops and the tail flukes go up.

'This one will be a deep dive,

and I follow as far as I can.

'But I'm just a temporary visitor here,

'this is definitely a whale's world.'

Whoo!

That was like nothing I have ever seen before.

Just a giant submarine cruising below us, and totally at ease.

Didn't seem to care at all that we were there in its world,

and I have never felt so utterly dwarfed

by a living creature in my life.

The largest animal that has ever lived.

The blue whale, definitely on my list.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd