Man swims with dozens of rare whales off Florida coast

BAL HARBOUR (FOX 13) - A boat captain saw something rare in the waters off the coast of South Florida – a large group of pilot whales.

It was just 20 miles off the coast of Bal Harbour that approximately 30 pilot whales swam alongside Arie Derzavich’s boat.

Pilot whales are generally an independent animal, usually only seen alone or in small groups of two or three.

Derzavich has been a diving instructor for almost 20 years, and said he had never seen anything like this before.

At first, Derzavich thought there was just one whale. He put on his mask and flippers and jumped into the water.

But as he looked into the depths, he was surprised to see dozens of the rare whale swimming all around him.

“The minute I jumped, I started see a huge pile of pilot whales. So beautiful.”

Derzavich says he knew this was a special, once in a lifetime moment. So, he pulled out his camera and documented it so that he could share the spectacular experience with the world.