HEARTSTOPPING footage shows the moment two giant whales move in to protect a diver from a bloodthirsty shark.
Benoît Girodeau was diving off the coast of Mauritius when he was approached by an oceanic whitetip shark – a species known for its aggression.
Natty Gong, a reggae-dancehall musician, recently posted a video showing a close encounter he had with two 45-tonne sperm whales while diving underwater. In the footage, these massive creatures scared off a shark that was approaching him.
The artist described the incident on his Instagram account, mentioning how the shark displayed aggressive behavior towards him but was quickly intercepted by one of the whales. Interestingly, one of the whales even swam upside down and followed the shark, appearing to protect the diver.
“With his mouth wide open, he chased the shark before checking me out and back off,” he said.
At one point, one whale seems to have done a good job of following the shark, sending it away from Girodeau.
Despite the whale’s efforts to ward off the shark, the predator eventually turned back and began circling towards Natty Gong once again, causing anxiety for the diver.
It is then that the second whale comes into view, cutting it off from approaching Girodeau with its mammoth body.
“The sperm whale wouldn’t let go and kept chasing the shark,” he recalled.
As the shark continued to get closer, one of the whales bit it on the tail, telling it to back off – something Girodeau said was a “surprise” to witness.
Girodeau said: “The shark tried to come back at me, but I was well guarded.
“And the other whale came back to both surround me.”
The protective action of both whales allowed Girodeau to make it back to the safety of his boat.
Oceanic whitetip sharks are rare but are one of the more dangerous sharks to humans.
According to experts at Ocean Conservancy, they are “aggressive and opportunistic hunters” that can grow up to 13 feet long.
They have a “drive to eat anything and everything they can get their jaws on,” the experts said, noting that they tend to stay near the surface of the water, which can put divers at risk.
Fact File: Sperm Whales
Description:
- The sperm whale is the largest toothed whale and the largest toothed predator on Earth.
- It has a distinctive, block-shaped head that makes up about one-third of its body length.
- They possess the largest brain of any animal on Earth.
- Its skin is typically dark grey, with lighter patches on the underside.
Size:
- Males: Up to 20.5 metres (67 feet) in length and can weigh up to 57 tonnes.
- Females: Smaller, up to 12 metres (39 feet) in length and around 15-20 tonnes in weight.
Habitat:
- Found in deep oceans worldwide, typically in waters deeper than 1,000 metres.
- Prefers tropical and temperate regions, but can also be found in polar waters.
Diet:
- Primarily feeds on squid, including giant and colossal squid, but also consumes fish.
- Can dive to depths of over 2,000 metres (6,600 feet) and stay submerged for up to 90 minutes while hunting.
Lifespan:
- Sperm whales can live for up to 70 years or more
Conservation Status:
- Listed as Vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
- Threats include ship strikes, entanglement in fishing gear, pollution, and climate change.
Divers are warned to be “extremely cautious” around the species.
It is believed that Oceanic white-tips were largely responsible for one of the deadliest shark attacks in history when the USS Indianapolis sunk in the Pacific in 1945 after being torpedoed by the Japanese.
Out of the 1,196 people on board, 900 entered the water alive but it is estimated that around 150 of them were picked off one-by-one by the opportunistic sharks.
Only 316 men survived the sinking, dehydration, exposure, salt-water poisoning, and the shark attacks.
Sperm whales are not known for being protective of humans, but their docile nature and rare interactions with divers such as Girodeau are interpreted as protective.
