Shawn Heinrichs, a photographer and filmmaker, was fortunate to have the opportunity to capture a rare moment when six tiger fish attacked a whale of fish in Sri Lanka.
If the tiger fish lived on land, we would have a lot of trouble. This is a very intelligent, high-herd fish that often attacks whales and sharks, and even seals on Antarctic icebergs.
'Tiger fish attack on sperm whales is rarely seen and recorded' - Robert Pitman, a marine ecologist of the Southwest Fisheries Science Center of the National Ocean and Sea Management Board, America said.
This is the first time this great war has been recorded.
Within 30 minutes, 5 tiger fishes repeatedly attacked 6 sperm whales, beat and bite them.
'In the world, there are very few groups of tiger fish that can attack sperm whales and their children' - Pitman said.
Sperm fish are usually larger and capable of diving longer, diving longer than tigerfish. Their powerful tails are also a difficulty for the enemy.
'A tail-wagging of sperm whale can cause death of tiger fish. Moreover, despite their large size and impressive teeth, sperm whales are quite shy and scared when tiger fish appear. They usually don't attack tiger fish directly with a tail wag. '
Heinrichs and his colleagues saw a giant fin of tiger fish rising to the surface of the water and then they saw a group of sperm whales clustering in a defensive position in the waters off SriLanka.
The battle ended, it seemed that the tiger fish had separated a young sperm whale from the herd to attack.
