A terrifying incident at an aquarium in China has been captured on video, showing a beluga whale lunging at and biting two divers during a routine tank session. The footage, taken on August 14 at Chengdu Haichang Polar Ocean Park in Sichuan, shows the whale first targeting a female worker, attempting to bite her legs as she swam away.
Moments later, the whale turned its attention to a male diver holding a camera, biting onto his flippers and holding on briefly before releasing. The whale then made a second attempt to bite before swimming off. Fortunately, both divers escaped unharmed, though visitors watching from outside the tank screamed in alarm.
This incident follows a similar event in April at the Stone Forest Ice and Snow World in Yunnan, where a beluga whale grabbed a woman's head in its mouth during an underwater photo shoot, removing her wig. The woman was able to swim to the surface without injury.
Beluga whales are generally known as social and highly intelligent animals, often curious toward humans, according to the Natural History Museum. However, studies have noted that belugas in captivity may exhibit aggressive behaviour when feeling threatened or provoked. Despite these incidents, belugas are listed as 'Least Concern' on the IUCN Red List.
The video comes amid a rise in AI-generated hoaxes, including a recent viral clip claiming to show a fatal orca attack on a trainer named Jessica Radcliffe. Investigations revealed the trainer never existed and the footage was fabricated using artificial intelligence.
