Malaysian Dive Instructor’s Video Of Massive Pilot Whale Pod Off Tioman Island Goes Viral
The routine diving excursion turned into a rare life experience for Irwan Ismail.
- Malaysian dive instructor Irwan Ismail captured footage of 100 to 150 pilot whales swimming off Tioman Island, Pahang.
- The video went viral on Instagram, with thousands amazed by the rare and breathtaking spectacle of the massive pod.
- Pilot whales are actually the second largest marine dolphin species, nicknamed "cheetahs of the deep sea" for their speed.
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Seeing a bunch of whales, let alone an enormous pod swimming in unison, is not something the average person experiences in their day-to-day lives.
Even most sea divers don’t see something like that on every dive.
But, we’re thankful for divers who happen to have their camera equipment with them when they’re out in the ocean.
A professional dive instructor’s epic encounter
Irwan Ismail, a Malaysian dive instructor and founder of Sorte Met Stella Scuba dive centre on Tioman Island, Pahang, recently shared a post on Instagram with a video of more than 100 pilot whales swimming right off the coast of the island.
The footage was caught when he went on a routine dive to check on bioengineered pebbles called “Blusinkies” — mineral-rich structures that are deployed on the seafloor to enhance local water alkalinity, stimulate wild macroalgae calcification, restore fragile marine ecosystems, and permanently lock away carbon for millennia.
In a stroke of pure good luck, Irwan managed to capture footage of the whale pod swimming gracefully above and under the water.
“We were fortunate to witness a massive pod of short-finned pilot whales (Globicephala macrorhynchus), estimated at 100–150 individuals, swimming together for nearly 20 minutes. They stretched across the horizon, as far as the eye could see, creating an unforgettable spectacle,” he said in an Instagram post.
The footage quickly went viral, garnering thousands of likes and comments as people watched the rare sight in awe.
They’re from the marine dolphin family, and not actually whales
Irwan also explained that pilot whales are highly social members of the dolphin family and are known to travel in large, close-knit pods, while noting how encounters of this scale are truly rare and a powerful reminder of the rich marine biodiversity surrounding Tioman Island.
Pilot whales are so named because of an old, early theory that entire pods were navigated by a single “pilot” or leader. Despite the nickname and their massive size, they are actually a species of marine dolphin (the second largest after the orca).
They catch and eat fish such as mackerel, hake, herring and cod but their favourite prey, by far, are squids and octopuses.
Pilot whales can dive to depths up to 1000 meters for 10 to 16 minutes at a time, and mostly feed at night in deep water using echolocation to find prey. They have been recorded swimming very quickly at depths, sprinting after large squid and have been aptly nicknamed “cheetahs of the deep sea”.
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