Humpback whale jumps clear out of the water off South Africa

July 20 (UPI) -- A scuba diver off the coast of South Africa captured rare video of a massive humpback whale jumping clear out of the water.

Craig Capehart said he and three other divers were in their boat hunting for sardines July 8 in the hopes of capturing some footage of predators off the coast of Mbotyi when he stopped to take video of a playful humpback whale breaching nearby.

"This video shows a humpback whale mother cow swimming with a calf," Capehart wrote "It shows an adult 40 ton whale on its back, slapping both its left and right fins on the water, then leaping entirely out of the water!"

Capehart said it was "a very rare event, indeed."

"It seems that never before has a recording been made of an adult humpback whale leaping entirely out of the water! " he wrote.