Blue whale surfacing.
A blue whale got very close to a kayaker off of the California coast. Reuters

A kayaker had quite an experience when a blue whale got very close to his boat.

Underwater photographer Rick Coleman posted a video of his experience on YouTube.

He had been kayaking off of the coast of Redondo Beach, California, Discovery News reported.

Blue whales are the largest animal known to have ever existed on Earth and one of the loudest creatures on the planet, according to National Geographic.

These are wild and powerful animals, NOAA Fisheries Service marine biologist Monica DeAngelis said, the blog PeteThomasOutdoors.com reported. One move of a flipper or the whale's fluke and this person could have been seriously hurt.

Even Coleman warned viewers against trying to get close to the gigantic creatures.

I'd like to take a moment to state that I don't recommend, endorse or in any way want to encourage anyone to try and swim with these whales, he wrote on YouTube, Discovery News reported. The whales are large unpredictable animals and potentially dangerous. I've talked to the NOAA and would like to share these Whale Watching Guidelines from the NOAA site: swr.nmfs.noaa.gov/psd/watching.htm.

California California YouTube