Shocking Moment: Saudi Man Jumps on Whale Shark and Rides on Its Back - Video

Whale sharks are the largest shark species, weighing about 20 tons and reaching a length of 12 metres or more. They feed on plankton and are not dangerous to humans. These sharks sometimes even allow swimmers to hitch a ride, although this activity is discouraged by scientists and conservationists because of the disturbances to the fish.

A Saudi man from the port city of Yanbu, Saudi Arabia has been captured on video riding a whale shark in the Red Sea.

The footage, which has been widely shared on social media networks, shows the man sitting on the edge of a boat with whale sharks swimming around him. The man seems to be choosing which fish to ride. Finally, he jumps straight onto the back of one of them, leans forward, and grabs the shark's dorsal fin to keep balance. The shark did not react to his actions, but stopped.

The other men in the boat kept cheering, with one of them saying, "Careful, it can swallow you".

شاهد عدد من شباب #ينبع
زاكي الصبحي
بادر الكبيدي
ياسر الرفاعي

يسبحون مع حوت او قرش #البهلوان
الذي يعتمد في غذائه على العوالق البحرية

سالم السناني - ينبع

. pic.twitter.com/T5DVlShfIh

— صـ حـ يـ فـ ـة ا لـ مـ د يـ نـ ـة (@Almadinanews) August 16, 2020

​Netizens, however, condemned the men's actions, with one saying: "Praise be to God, I see we have their names. I hope they will be arrested and held accountable for their reckless behaviour".

"I fully agree, they must be held accountable. One day you get an idiot standing on the back of a turtle while it's laying its eggs, then the next day you get this guy standing on a whale passing peacefully by and terrifying it. They are destroying nature", another one said.

According to the WWF, whale sharks are endangered due to the demand for their meat, fins, and fat.