Heartstopping moment two giant whales get in the way to ‘protect’ diver from killer shark

No matter how many stories we hear about the horrors of the deep sea, divers and ocean enthusiasts keep on going down there.

Thanks to the power of the Go Pro we're now able to get up close and personal with lots of the wildlife living in the sea but we are always going to encounter more and more terrifying species that we haven't come across before, as scientists in 2020 discovered when encountering a pre-historic shark.

There's only so far we can go in the ocean but a recent animation has exposed the terrifying reality of just how deep they can go, with plenty of aquatic animals no doubt still to be discovered.

Personally I'm not sure how anyone can watch Jaws and still think that it's a good idea to go diving in shark-infested waters but that was the reality Benoît Girodeau, a reggae-dancehall artist, found himself in recently.

The Mauritian, who is better known by his stage name Natty Gong, was diving off the coast of his home country when he was approached by an oceanic whitetip shark.

The species is regarded as a top predator and is reportedly willing to eat anything and everything it comes across, meaning that no human is safe in their company.

The whales approached the shark and surrounded the diver (Caters)

They are thought to be responsible for several unrecorded human fatalities, and Benoît was hoping he wasn't about to become another statistic when the shark was eyeing him up as his next meal.

Fortunately, with the musician probably saying his prayers, he was suddenly circled by two 45-tonne sperm whales who chased off the 'curious' shark, with one of them seen 'biting' the shark on the tail as it seemingly sought to protect Benoît.

The diver says they protected him (Caters)

In the video, he said: "The shark tried an aggressive approach towards me, but was immediately blocked by the whale. With his mouth wide open, he chased the shark before checking me out and backing off. The young female then relayed him to keep the shark away.

"They started swimming faster, the sperm whale wouldn't let go and kept chasing the shark, she started diving upside down to position herself and make sure the shark was kept at the surface. She swam faster beneath the shark and bit its tail to my great surprise.

"The shark tried to come back at me, but I was well guarded. And the other whale came back to both surround me."

A lucky escape for the Reggae star, who might well have just inspired the long-awaited sequel to Free Willy.