Sperm Whale Greeting

This is a juvenile sperm whale named Scar who is sometimes sighted off the coast of Dominica. He is about 11 years old and has been interested in people since he was a calf. This was the third time I had been in the water with him, and he seems very enthusiastic to see me! This was shot with a Canon 7D in an Aquatica housing with a Tokina 10-17 lens.

This video has been released by its creator under the Creative Commons BY-SA 3.0 License.

[tobyw]

The reason whales are so smart is that they do not have to watch commercials.

[squishy]

People in 1788: IT'S A WHALE! HERE HE COMES, GET HARPOONS READY!
People now: *pet pet*

[JOlivier]

Video is 10 years old. I really hope Scar is still out there living his best life.

[dragonwithamonocle]

"Crikey, that looks like a couple o' humans over there! You almost never see them this far out from their natural habitats. Let's get a bit closer and see what they're up to..."

[gutspraygore]

It's so weird that mammals seem to have this instinct that they know humans will rub their belly if they present it to you. I mean, you don't see other animals rubbing their bellies. It's even weirder that when an animal presents its belly, you can't help yourself but to rub it.

[racher]

I'd be ugly crying with joy if this was me. Getting that close to a leviathan would be beyond amazing.

[sugarbaybee]

He’s probably thinking “Wow a human! I’ve never been this close to one before” 😂

[FlowingDepths]

I've never seen their eyes that close up before.

I like how these creatures are freakishly big and intimidating, but are highly enthusiastic to human company !

[AshyGrn]

So basically a living, breathing submarines with a jaw charges toward you while bombarding you with the most advanced active sonar in the animal kingdom. Then it comes to a full stop and asks for belly rub. I'm not sure if I should be scared or laugh.

[hallowedknightyt]

They're like giant water horses, most whales. It's adorable that they just swim up to divers and just be like, "Yeah, pets, please."

[thomopolusrex]

I'm envious. You made a friend. He will remember you as an individual for the rest of his life.

[strmhendrix]

He likes you! Sperm whales tend to stay upright when they want to welcome you and interact, and he kept his clicking to a minimum. He probably knew that those would hurt you. That's so cool to watch!

[stufaman]

2:03
Just seeing that eye looking right at you and knowing it's at peace with you.

[carto]

Their sonar is so powerful that divers can only dive for a short time with them. With the sonar they are able to scan you but its so loud and such a frequncy that to be "Scanned" can feel like your on fire. Your bones vibrate and your organs jiggle, some have passed out from it.

[johnmutton]

It is resting near him, completely relaxed. Clicking like that means he or she was hunting untill it saw you and thought it would say hello. What a experience!

[panostsak]

It's just fascinating seeing marine predatory mammals that could easily consider us a quick meal being simply inquisitive and wanting to interact. Shows how successful they are as species, they get their food when they want it and the rest is just playing and exploring. Similar to us.

EDIT - Since so many people are focusing on the "whales do not eat people", I am not implying that they would eat us. I am making a point that a big wild predatory animal is happy to be around us, while this is not a common occurrence in nature. Other intelligent animals, such as elephants, would not be very happy if we went near them.

[Caragoner]

I Love the fact It just happily closed it's eyes and rotated slowly

[arkboi]

That's surprisingly a VERY friendly, gentle, and affectionate Sperm Whale. It knew exactly where you were and took great care not to accidentally hurt you. It seemed pretty happy and content just to be near you and spend some time with you, checking you out. I kept thinking, "awe, you big ol' baby" while watching this. I'd personally love to dream that whales would actively seek out human friends for hugs and belly scratches.

[tyrodin_]

Fun fact: the sounds of the sperm whales actually can kill a human if the sounds are loud enough