Divers Have a Surprise Encounter with a Humpback Whale

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Deep sea diving enthusiast John Westwater, aka westh2o, set out on an underwater adventure with some friends at Moorea, French Polynesia (about 9 miles northwest of Tahiti) back in October 2011. What they all experienced was beyond what they could have imagined as they encountered a humpback whale singing a song. It was while exploring a “shark cleaning station” at about 40 to 75 feet underwater when they first heard a boisterous bellowing echoing through the waters.

Westwater managed to capture their exciting adventure on video, but says, “The recording does not do justice to the actual sound. Seriously some of those sounds vibrated my chest. I didn't realize whales had such a wide frequency of sound. Some were mid to hi frequency and some were very low.” He adds, “After he passed I was thinking will there be another one…It was the size of an underwater School Bus! The dive master said that this is a rare event. Only happens about 1 or 2 a year and he dives over 1500 dives a year.”

Check out the full video, below.

The divers start off by simply exploring the under waters teeming with fish.

The divers start off by simply exploring the under waters teeming with fish.

They are met with a number of fish in this area which typically serve to clean a shark's teeth after it has fed.

They are met with a number of fish in this area which typically serve to clean a shark's teeth after it has fed.

Some stuck around and got closer to the camera.

Some stuck around and got closer to the camera.

Then, everything went blue for a while as long, echoing noises could be heard getting louder and louder.

Then, everything went blue for a while as long, echoing noises could be heard getting louder and louder.

The divers were finally met with what was making all those sounds—a large humpback whale.

The divers were finally met with what was making all those sounds—a large humpback whale.

The whale stayed silent for a moment as it passed by the divers.

The whale stayed silent for a moment as it passed by the divers.

As quickly as it came, it went off on its own.

As quickly as it came, it went off on its own.

via [PetaPixel]

Pinar

Pinar Noorata is the Managing Editor at My Modern Met. She is a writer, editor, and content creator based in Brooklyn, NY. She earned her BA in Film and Media Studies from CUNY Hunter College and is an alumni of the Center for Arts Education’s Career Development Program in NYC. She has worked at major TV, film, and publishing companies as well as other independent media businesses. When she isn’t writing, editing, or creating videos herself, Pinar enjoys watching movies, reading, crafting, drawing, and volunteering at her local animal shelter.
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