A diver says that two sperm whales rushed to ‘protect’ him when a shark made an ‘aggressive approach’ towards him.

Benoît Girodeau, a reggae-dancehall artist better known by his stage name Natty Gong, was diving off the coast of Mauritius when a ‘very curious’ oceanic whitetip shark started swimming his way.

Astonishing video captured underwater shows how a pair of 45-tonne sperm whales seemingly rushed to his defense, blocking the shark from coming near.

The whales surrounded Girodeau and started chasing after the shark, apparently trying to drive it away.

After making some threatening gestures, one of the whales bit the shark’s tail, forcing it to disappear back into the depths of the ocean. 

One whale chased after the shark, while the other dived deeper in the ocean, positioning itself between the diver and the predator. 

Oceanic whitetips are considered one of the more dangerous sharks to humans, according to marine researchers.

The species is known to attack shipwreck survivors and are suspected to be responsible for numerous unrecorded human shark-related fatalities. 

Benoît Girodeau, a reggae-dancehall artist better known by his stage name Natty Gong, was diving off the coast of Mauritius when a ‘very curious’ oceanic whitetip shark started swimming his way

Astonishing video captured underwater shows how a pair of 45-tonne sperm whales seemingly rushed to his defense, blocking the shark from coming near and driving it away

Girodeau, who shared the amazing footage on his Instagram page, says he was diving when the shark was making an ‘aggressive approach’ in his direction when it was ‘immediately blocked by the whale’.

‘With his mouth wide open, he chased the shark,’ the artist recalled. ‘Before checking me out and back off.’

The other shark, which Girodeau identifies as a ‘young female’, then relayed the message to ‘keep the shark away’, the musician said. 

The two whales appear to pick up the pace, seemingly swimming faster as they follow the shark.

‘The sperm whale wouldn’t let go and kept chasing the shark,’ Girodeau said.

The female is seen ‘diving upside down’ as she positions herself between him and the shark, making sure the predator is kept at the surface of the water.

She started swimming faster beneath the shark, before biting its tail – which Girodeau says was quite the ‘surprise’.

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

One whale chased after the shark, while the other dived deeper in the ocean, positioning itself between the diver and the predator

‘With his mouth wide open, he chased the shark,’ the artist recalled. ‘Before checking me out and back off’

After making some threatening gestures, one of the whales bit the shark’s tail, forcing it to disappear back into the depths of the ocean 

The oceanic whitetip, which can grow to reach 11 to 13 feet long, is considered dangerous to humans, according to the Florida Museum of Natural History.

The species is typically found offshore, but often one of the first to seen in waters surrounding mid-ocean disasters.

Humans are warned to treat the species with ‘extreme caution’, with experts warning that the oceanic whitetip’s opportunistic feeding behavior, size and unpredictability around divers makes it highly dangerous. 

Oceanic whitetip sharks are known to show ‘little fear’ and be ‘quite persistent’ when circling divers.

The sperm whale is the biggest toothed whale in the ocean and has the largest brain, Ocean Conservancy reports. The species is also one of the deepest diving whales and can dive over 4,000 feet.

Although sperm whales are the only creatures in the ocean with throats large enough to swallow a human, they are not known to attack humans. The species is generally docile, but will defend themselves if attacked. 

There are no official documented cases of sperm whales protecting humans from harm, but experts say some encounters – such as the one Girodeau experienced – suggest behaviors that can be interpreted as protective.