Mom Recounts Family's Experience Swimming with a 'Goliath Grouper'
Anytime you're vacationing near water, there's a good chance you're going to run into some pretty cool ocean life — even if you're not going snorkeling or scuba diving. Okay, some sea creatures can be pretty scary (especially the ones that exist way down deep), but for the most part, it's always fun to spot fish and maybe even have a dolphin sighting. But this family on vacation definitely got more than they bargained for!
As this one mom, @jenniferkendall63, shared in a video on TikTok, she and her family were on a boat while vacationing in the Florida Keys when they ran into the biggest fish. It's a Goliath Grouper, and even seeing this video, it's hard to truly grasp how huge this fish is.
She and family were all diving into the water off of their boat to swim when they discovered a Goliath Grouper was in the water just a foot away from them... and just by seeing this footage, we can totally understand why they might have been a little freaked out — he was so big that, at first, they mistook him for a shark. This guy looks like he can do some damage... but can he?
According to the Florida Museum, Goliath Groupers have been known to stalk divers and conduct "unsuccessful ambushes" on people, so it's best to proceed with caution if you see one of them in the wild.
People who have seen the fish in person commented their thoughts on the video, with one writing, "We loved having them around our boat while on the reef, they kept the 6 foot barracuda away from our boat."
As scary as it might have been, it's still pretty cool that they got up close and personal with such a huge creature. This guy's not messing around!
