Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

WHALE RESCUE Watch incredible moment two giant 45-tonne whales ‘protect’ diver from bloodthirsty shark in staggering video
The Sun US ^ | March 18, 2025 | Emma Crabtree, News Reporter

Posted on 03/19/2025 6:23:43 AM PDT by Red Badger

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.

VIDEO AT LINK.....................

The whales fiercely defended the terrified diver from the sharkCredit: Caters

The two sperm whales got in between Benoit Girodeau and the sharkCredit: Caters The reggae-dancehall artist known as Natty Gong shared underwater footage of the shocking moment he was circled by two 45-tonne sperm whales who chased off the "curious" shark.

He shared the astonishing footage on Instagram, saying that the shark made an "aggressive approach" towards him but was "immediately blocked by the whale".

"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.

It even swam upside down and tailed the apex predator, but despite seemingly chasing it off, the shark slowly started swimming back around towards the terrified 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.

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.


TOPICS: Education; Outdoors; Pets/Animals; Weird Stuff
KEYWORDS: shark; spermwhale; whales; whitetip

1 posted on 03/19/2025 6:23:43 AM PDT by Red Badger
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: Red Badger

Sperm whales have teeth! Either could’ve bitten that shark in two!


2 posted on 03/19/2025 6:28:17 AM PDT by BradyLS (DO NOT FEED THE BEARS!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Red Badger

Dayum!


3 posted on 03/19/2025 6:28:21 AM PDT by ComputerGuy ( )
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: BradyLS

“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.”


4 posted on 03/19/2025 6:31:44 AM PDT by Red Badger (Homeless veterans camp in the streets while illegals are put up in 5 Star hotels....................)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: Red Badger

Ummm...video shows jack.


5 posted on 03/19/2025 6:33:12 AM PDT by logi_cal869 (-cynicus the "concern troll" a/o 10/03/2018 /!i!! &@$%&*(@ -)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Red Badger

Wow.


6 posted on 03/19/2025 6:37:18 AM PDT by No name given ( Anonymous is who you’ll know me as)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Red Badger

In other news a pod of dolphins swum around the spacex capsule protecting 4 astronauts, yesterday.


7 posted on 03/19/2025 6:44:23 AM PDT by Vaquero (Don't pick a fight with an old guy. If he is too old to fight, he'll just kill you. )
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Red Badger

There go the m3dia, generalizing about “bloodthirsty sharks”- how do they know that the shark wasn’t just trying to warn the diver that there were 2 giant whales in the area?


8 posted on 03/19/2025 6:47:29 AM PDT by Bob434 (Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Bob434

White Tip sharks don’t warn..................


9 posted on 03/19/2025 6:52:39 AM PDT by Red Badger (Homeless veterans camp in the streets while illegals are put up in 5 Star hotels....................)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

To: Red Badger

Who filmed this? The diver?


10 posted on 03/19/2025 6:57:01 AM PDT by goodnesswins (Democracy to Democrats is stealing other peoples money for their use, no matter how idiotic)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: goodnesswins

The other whale.....................


11 posted on 03/19/2025 7:01:05 AM PDT by Red Badger (Homeless veterans camp in the streets while illegals are put up in 5 Star hotels....................)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 10 | View Replies]

To: Red Badger
"bloodthirsty shark"

Doesn't that cover almost all sharks. Whale sharks excluded.

12 posted on 03/19/2025 8:03:22 AM PDT by TangoLimaSierra (⭐⭐To the Left, The Truth is Right Wing Violence⭐⭐)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: TangoLimaSierra

Many sharks are harmless. It’s the ones that aren’t that get all the bad press.............


13 posted on 03/19/2025 8:06:20 AM PDT by Red Badger (Homeless veterans camp in the streets while illegals are put up in 5 Star hotels....................)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 12 | View Replies]

To: Bob434

Shark was trying to get him an extended warranty as his was about expire.


14 posted on 03/19/2025 8:08:17 AM PDT by Keyhopper (Indians had bad immigration laws)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

To: Vaquero

It is obvious that whales and dolphin have continued to honor mankind, even though we brought sin into the world. I think God has allowed their friendship to remind us that we were made to be happy with our Creator, forever.


15 posted on 03/19/2025 9:40:22 AM PDT by blackpacific
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies]

To: Red Badger

Oceanic White Tip.
Very bad news.


16 posted on 03/19/2025 12:34:10 PM PDT by Zathras
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Red Badger

In my own experience, these are not typically aggressive. I’ve been up close to both white and black tips. In most cases they were ‘sleeping’ in caves or on the bottom.

Wiki has this to say:
Whitetip reef sharks are generally shy and non-aggressive towards humans, though they may approach out of curiosity, and encounters rarely result in harm. However, they may investigate swimmers closely, and spear fishers are at risk of being bitten by one attempting to steal their catch.


17 posted on 03/19/2025 2:00:04 PM PDT by Magnum44 (...against all enemies, foreign and domestic... )
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 13 | View Replies]

Dry Humpback Whales 2003/09/03

18 posted on 04/03/2025 6:56:48 AM PDT by SunkenCiv (Putin should skip ahead to where he kills himself in the bunker.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson