A family of sperm whales have shown their gentle side by allowing a group of divers to swim alongside them in the middle of the Caribbean Sea.
Known as the world’s largest predators, sperm whales can weigh up to 45 tonnes and measure up to 59ft in length. They can dive up to 3,280ft and have rows of razor-sharp teeth 7in long .
But this group of whales dispelled the Moby Dick myth by letting the team of divers swim just yards away from them.
Tails of the unexpected: Andy Morris, from the UK, is dwarfed by the sperm whale’s tail as he swims alongside it three miles off the coast at Dominica, Caribbean
Among the divers was Brit Andy Morris, a 41-year-old systems analyst, from Stoke Poges, who got within arm’s reach of the giant’s tail. The photographs were captured three miles of the coast of Dominica by wildlife photographer and expedition leader Amos Nachoum, 63.
He tracked the whales using a hydrophone – an underwater microphone that picks up the whale communications.
The divers approached slowly, as sperm whales can be easily scared off and may dive to the ocean depths for up to 90 minutes.
Sperm whales are the world’s largest predators and they can eat as much as one ton of squid per day with their teeth which can measure up to 7in long
Divers were found it a ‘great privilege’ to get so close to the family of sperm whales which were spotted just three miles off the coast of Dominica in the Caribbean
Mr Amos, from Israel, said: ‘All animals have comfort zones and some of the sperm whale families have become habituated and friendly with us in the water.
‘After all, whales are faster and stronger than any human swimmer.
‘As long as the swimmer is gentle and soft in the water, whales usually will accept our presence with them. That is a great privilege.’
Females and calves stay in Dominica all year round but the male arrives only for mating between January to March.
Sperm whales, which are known to feed on giant squid, were almost hunted to extinction in the late 1960s but have since made a comeback.
Divers saw a baby sperm whale swimming with her mother at Dominica in the Caribbean. Males are only seen with females in mating season from January to March
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