Teenager 'hitches ride' with whale shark (Video)

• 18.06.2013, 9:33

A video of a teenager in Florida holding onto the fin of a whale shark as it swims with him on its back has become an online sensation.

The video shows Florida teenager Chris Kreis jumping off a boat into the water in the Gulf of Mexico and grabbing hold of the fin of a 30ft long whale shark.

The whale shark swims along for a few seconds with the 19-year-old on its back before Kreis lets go and swims back to the boat.

The video of his escapade on June 8 has become a sensation online with over 230,000 views in a week.

Kreis spoke to local TV station NBC 2 about the experience: "When I started holding on I felt the whale shark it started moving itself, it felt the drag and it didn't really want me on there so I let go and that's it."

The whale shark is the largest species of fish in the world and feeds mainly on plankton.