Close Encounter with a Sperm Whale to the Delight of Oceanographers; Watch Video

An encounter which very rarely happens with a sperm whale that has tremendously delighted an oceanographer and his team while on a mission to study the ocean floor's hydrothermal vents as per the report of Microcap Observer news.

Team leader Robert Ballard together with his team has been deep sea expedition in the Gulf of Mexico with the use of a motor vehicle (ROV) doing their regular undersea dive studying the hydrothermal vents.

The divers noticed that they have an unusual visitor nearby and they thought that a humpback whale was swimming by and after some minutes, they figured that it was a sperm whale.  It got curious with the ROV going around it several times.

The very rare incident has brought excitement among the oceanographers who happily watched the curious whale move around and about the ROV.  It was indeed a chance of a lifetime for them since seeing a sperm whale at a close distance does not happen every day.  The encounter was caught on video and a million YouTube fans have already seen it.

The sperm whale is now considered an endangered species and they are known for its spermaceti, a wax-like lubricant and used for candles and fuel lamps.  The whale or cachalot is also the loudest mammal in the face of the earth which can make loud calls at 230 decibels.  Sperm whales are also very intelligent and their brain measures up to twenty pounds.  Considered as a part of the largest and biggest toothed mammal in the world growing to about 60 feet in size.

The rare encounter with the sperm whale was considered extremely unexpected and rare by Ballard.  The oceanographers were surprised and caught off-guard seeing it in the waters of Louisiana.