Scuba diver Craig Capeheart filmed a rarely seen event off the coast of South Africa: a 40-ton humpback whale leaping fully out of the water – much like a dolphin. The whale propels its body out of the water in a surprisingly spry manner for such an enormous animal, making other onlookers shout with awe as it splashes down.

“It seems that never before has a recording been made of an adult humpback whale leaping entirely out of the water! A very rare event, indeed,” Capeheart writes in the caption to his video.

“Dolphins and even Great White Sharks have been seen flying out of the water, but this is a first for an adult humpback whale!” he adds.

Scientists believe that breaching (or leaping out of the water) is a way for distant groups of whales to communicate – as opposed to tail and fin slapping, which is reserved for close range communication.

Any move when a whale’s body is at least 40% above sea level is considered breaching. But having their entire body out of the water is an extremely rare sight.