Audio By Carbonatix
It’s all fun and games until you realize you’re accidentally surrounded by hundreds of flying, disease-carrying animals. Tulum is known for its turquoise waters, great food, and unique cenotes (underground caves and sinkholes). Once a hidden gem, this beach is now a tourism magnet. But as this viral incident shows, those Instagram-worthy cenotes can come with some serious health risks.
In a viral video with more than 9.1 million views, content creator Kristin Newby (@kristin__newby) shared the wild discovery she had in the middle of what she thought was a peaceful swim.
In the video, Newby is chilling in a cenote with her friend when suddenly they look up and see hundreds of eyes staring back at them.
The entire ceiling of the cave is moving as bats hang, tucked into every nook and cranny.
Newby posted a version of the video with the original sound. It’s apparent that she and her friend were taken aback by what they were seeing. But they seemed not to try to panic to avoid further disturbing the bats, lest they come flying down at them.
“Maybe we should of got a rabies shot,” Newby said in the caption. Given that she’s kept posting, it seems Newby is fine and hasn’t contracted any kind of deadly disease.
Swimmers Beware
In the follow-up, Newby added that they “had no idea they were up there.”
She also added the following in a comment: “Over a million people visit Tulum cenotes a year, and hundreds of travelers and locals go there every single day. These bats are used to people and there were tons of locals around us. The local tour guide splashed them. Not us. The bats weren’t harmed.”
Newby told BroBible that their tour guide was a random guy who owned a bar they visited. He took them on an adventure to a lazy river, cenotes, and a cleansing Mayan ritual.
“In the cenote he told me and my friends to come into the cave to take a picture, when we finally got into the cave where you see in the video, he told us to come closer, we had no idea what was above us at the time, he had the flash light on with a video and acted like he was going to take a pic and then panned the camera up to the ceiling and we all freaked out lol,” she shared via Instagram direct message.
What Is Rabies?
Rabies is a deadly virus that spreads to humans through the saliva of infected animals, usually via bites, according to the Mayo Clinic.
In the U.S., you’re most likely to encounter rabies from bats, coyotes, foxes, raccoons, and skunks. But if you’re traveling to developing countries, stray dogs are your biggest concern. The virus can also spread through infected saliva getting into open wounds or mucous membranes like your mouth or eyes, though that’s much rarer.
Any mammal can carry and transmit rabies, from your neighbor’s cat to wild beavers. Even pets like dogs, cats, ferrets, goats, and horses can spread it if they’re infected. In extremely rare cases, people have even contracted rabies from infected organ transplants.
What Happens If You Get Rabies?
This is where things get genuinely scary. Once rabies symptoms start showing up, the disease is almost always fatal, per the Mayo Clinic. That’s why immediate medical attention after any potential exposure is absolutely crucial.
The early symptoms are deceptively mild—basically flu-like stuff that can last for days. You might experience fever, headache, nausea, and vomiting. But as the virus progresses, things get much worse fast.
Later-stage symptoms include agitation, anxiety, confusion, hyperactivity, and difficulty swallowing. Patients often develop excessive salivation and experience fear when trying to drink fluids because swallowing becomes so difficult. Even having air blown on their face can trigger fear responses. The virus can also cause hallucinations, insomnia, and partial paralysis.
The Mayo Clinic emphasizes that if you’re bitten by any animal—or even think you might have been exposed to a rabid animal—you need to seek medical care immediately. This includes situations where you wake up to find a bat in your room, since these creatures can bite without waking you up. When in doubt, assume exposure happened and get checked out.
Commenters React
“I would’ve been screaming and crying. Might’ve even drowned,” a top comment read.
“Went from becoming mermaids to vampires real quick,” a person said.
“Mind yall, yall in their house,” another pointed out.
BroBible reached out to Newby for comment via email and Instagram direct message.
