Giant whale 'poonado' covers unlucky divers

A group of divers received an unexpected surprise when they were suddenly engulfed by a giant underwater poo cloud.

Created by a rather inconsiderate sperm whale, the revolting images show the unlucky bunch being completely submerged by a heavy brown mist.

Described as a "poonado" by Canadian photographer, Keri Wilk, 30, the peculiar behaviour is thought to have been evidence of a rarely seen defence mechanism.

Seen in waters off the small Island of Dominica, the marine mammal managed to create a whirlwind of excrement by spinning on its side and flapping its tail.

The hilarious, if not revolting, moment occurred when the four free divers began to take pictures of the aquatic mammal as part of a government-approved expedition to photograph the whales.

But the routine dive soon took a strange turn when the whale began releasing wave upon wave of faecal matter right in front of their eyes.

Although it isn't uncommon to see whales defecate before they descend, this was a bowel movement with a difference, spanning over 30 metres in diameter.

To make matters worse, Keri prefers to dive with just goggles and a snorkel as bubbles from scuba diving equipment tend to disturb the whales.

Keri told Caters News: "Four of us got into the water near the whale, then it slowly approached us, stopped, and pointed itself straight down before the storm began.

"At first, it seemed like a regular bowel movement but rather than continuing its dive down, it remained at the surface and continued to defecate for a startling length of time.

"Four of us looked at each other with confusion, then back at the whale, expecting that any second its call from nature would come to an end.

"Instead, the whale bobbed up and down, spun in circles and waved the poo in every direction for several minutes while we just sat back and watched.

"The water was crystal clear, initially, and was the most idyllic Caribbean blue water that you could imagine.

"After a few waves of faeces were released and stirred vigorously by the whale, the water was like chocolate milk, I couldn't see my hand when I held it in front of my face.

"I had poop in my eyes, mouth, wetsuit, everywhere and I was soaked in it from head to toe.

"But, after leaving the cloud, it quickly washed away, and didn't leave a smell on us.

"I did take an extra long shower once I returned to shore later that day, just in case.

"I've never heard of it happening before, and I don't know anyone that has had this happen, it very well could be the first time that it has been photographically documented."