Striking Footage Shows a Sperm Whale Verbally “Scanning” a Diver

Striking Underwater Footage Captures a Sperm Whale Approaching and “Scanning” a Diver

By Regina Sienra on December 24, 2024

Listen to this sperm whale “scan” me (OC)
byu/Damnitwasagoodday inDamnthatsinteresting

Sperm whales are among the largest predators in the world. Males can grow up to 67 feet long and weigh up to 90 tons, while females can be between 36 to 40 feet long and weigh around 15 tons. It may be hard to grasp, but if you were to come across one in the ocean, you'd be understandably scared. But not Reddit user Damnitwasagoodday, whose calm demeanor was rewarded with a once in a lifetime interaction with a sperm whale.

The diver posted a video of their encounter to Reddit, sharing that it happened during a sperm whale watching expedition in Dominica, led by Just the Wild. The clip shows a whale “scanning” them with a clicking sounds for a couple minutes—a mix of echolocation and communication, most likely denoting curiosity around a human.

When asked how he got the whale to approach him, the Reddit user writes, “Honestly she did all the work. If we got in the water loudly and chased after the whales they would take off every time. Keeping the boat at a distance, approaching slowly/quietly and stopping to give her space gave her the opportunity to decide to come in to check us out.”

Despite the size, the whale never made them feel unsafe. “I was actually concerned at the beginning when she started to rise that I was going to make contact with her head and scare her off,” Damnitwasagoodday adds. “She was amazingly graceful and came within inches without touching me.”

Highly social animals, sperm whales are very communicative and use sequences of clicks called codas, to express themselves. They are commonly thought to be the loudest animals on Earth, however, the Reddit user says the noise only compared to a motorcycle idling. “The clicks are amplified in the video because she is only inches from my camera’s microphone. The vibration I felt was most likely all the adrenaline and happiness exploding in my body. I’m still stoked more than a week later,” the diver shares.

There are a lot of misconceptions about how the loud sounds they make can be deadly. However, expedition leader Caine Delacy says that as the loudest sperm whale clicks, exceeding 200 decibels, have been recorded only in rare instances. “In general, their clicks are of lower intensity, making it even less likely that they could harm humans,” Delacy writes.

Beyond the “scan” moment, the diver was stuck with one endearing image. “When they open their mouths it looks like they are smiling,” they recall. “We had a calf hang out with us later in the day and he had his mouth open like a big playful puppy.” To them, awe is a good word to summarize the experience. “I didn’t feel terrified but I was overcome with emotion,” they conclude.