Did these sperm whales protect a diver from a curious (but deadly) oceanic white tip shark? The diver certainly believes so. Ben’Giro posted a video on Instagram claiming the oceanic white tip shark had swum up to him aggressively before two sperm whales appeared to act defensively on his behalf, shooing away the shark.
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As the diver filmed, the whales positioned themselves between him and the shark, even when it tried to circle back around. At one point, one of the whales even nipped the shark’s tail fin, much to the diver’s surprise (you can hear him gasp when it happens).
While the massive whales wouldn’t have any vested interest in protecting a human from a shark, they do appear to be trying to make it go away. What do you think happened here?
For context, oceanic white tip sharks are large sharks that live in the open ocean. They’re one of the more dangerous species to humans. Although sperm whales can eat sharks (and sometimes do), they’re not a preferred menu item.
Watch two whales as they possibly protect a diver from a shark that was acting aggressively: