Dear Shawn J from Lexington, USA,

Remember we are animals/mammals too and have to share the planet with everything else on land and sea!!

Moez Adamjee, Hayes, United Kingdom

J. Shawn of Lexington Usa

You are joking right ?? Do really hope so !

Klam, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

serves him right!

Rakesh Sumit, London, UK

It must have been a female whale. They have blow holes, you know. Well, lets hope that it certainly wasn't a MALE whale! Whale of a tale!

Garth Strong, San Diego, USA/CAL

sounds like he had a whale of a time.....
sorry.

tim, Reading, Uk

This is just horrible. Us humans are in harms way everytime we try to enjoy a swim in the worlds oceans. A quick response by all the worlds nations should be to make drastict declines in the number of large fish and mammals that live in the ocean so that safer environment for our swimming enjoyment can be ensured. The meat from the captured fish and mammals can be given to poor nations.

Shawn J, Lexington, USA

Take a chill pill everyone, can you not see scarcasm? Funny one Tim.
My view is that we are all wild animals, if it's in these guys instincts to do this then so be it as long as they use our superior intelligence and respect to the animals. If a monkey decided to swim with whales we would be in awe and say how fantasticly amazing it is that these two species can interact in such a way and not harm eachother. No real difference here except that a load of self righteous bores think that noone should have any fun.

Ian, Glasgow.,

Would you call this harmony between man and beast, or is it simply a human attaching herself to the side of this magnificent creature just because she can? I agree with CA, it's inappropriate and wrong.

Boo, Balham,

Awesome! more people should stop watching tv and do crazy things like this!

Dan, Chester,

I'm sure they will fall foul of Darwins theory soon!

andrew, northampton, UK

All cetaceans are wild animals and humans should learn to respect them and their habitats by leaving them alone and not using them as play toys.

Leanne, Swansea,

I thought a basic rule of all animal studies and encouters was not to touch them?? What is this person doing/ These are wild animals, they don't live by our rules.

CA, Manchester, UK

I don't want to fly in the face of public opinion here Sharanya, but a dolphin is obviously not as dangerous as a great white shark nor many other wild animals such as a lion or a crocodile. Nor are all wild animals dangerous, for example, the tasty ones tend not to be. "Wild" does not equal "dangerous". Otherwise, good point. Earnest and stuff.

Geoff, London,

extreme photographer = extreme stupidy

Clive, Drtford, Kent

I think that Tim's response is a very flippant response and I hope he is actually joking. These are magnificent animals and as with ALL wild creatures, they command respect. As the photographer himself points out, 'It wasn't actually trying to bite me'. People are mislead by 'trained' animals in shows, these are wild creatures who are simple responding to the 'aliens' in their territory. If any of these animals WANTED to harm or kill the divers/photographers then they are strong enough to have done so. I have had the honour of living amongst animals (namely Big 5 in Afirca) and have never felt safer. Most animals when treated with respect are safer than some humans you encounter.

Wendy, West Malling, Kent

Ok. You have a stranger in your house. You have a weapon. You don't know if this stranger, who has a strange shape, is a threat. But it sure doesn't belong there. What do you do? You test it - and make sure you have that weapon handy. Some people would outright kill it, kind of like an animal would. Considering this, the whale was much more gentle, unlike so many humans would have been. To say these whales aren't human - that is a fact. In this case, it is better to say that a human is not a whale. Either way, the human is not a native to the whale's environment, just as the whale would not be native to a human residence. It is also just as silly to lump all whales in one reaction category as it is for humans. The reaction is understandable, for either a human or a whale. Maybe we aren't that different after all. In this case, the whale was the better man.

Shonah, Darmstadt, Germany

tim how can u say that?? the photographer was in its space and habitat unexpectedly- and the whale didnt even harm him! do u not care about any other creatures on this planet except humans!
but anyway thats a fantastic picture- real harmony between man and beast!

tom, surrey, uk

I quote:

Whales and dolphins ... are just as dangerous as any other wild animal, such as a great white shark...." Tim

I would be inclined to question the thereputic value of encouraging disabled children to travel to Florida to ride around a tank, clinging to fin of a Great White. Perhaps Piranahas would be just as cuddly and fun as dolphins without making so much noise? just an Idea.

Neil, Bristol, England

Mashallah, what an amazing experience!

Farrukh, Woking, UK

And then we complain about the Japaneese for harpooning them, clearly all these dangerous animals need to be eaten up before someone gets hurt!

Tim, Dundee, Scotland

Whales and dolphins are wild animals and are just as dangerous as any other wild animal, such as a great white shark. Responsible whale and dolphin watching is the safest way to view these magnificent animals without harming them or yourself.

Sharanya Prasad, Boston, Massachusetts, USA