March 13, 2008


A Dolphin Rescues Two Beached Whales

A dolphin has come to the rescue of two whales which had become stranded on a beach in New Zealand. Conservation officer Malcolm Smith told the BBC that he and a group of other people had tried in vain for an hour and a half to get the whales to sea.

The pygmy sperm whales had repeatedly beached, and both they and the humans were tired and set to give up, he said. But then the dolphin appeared, communicated with the whales, and led them to safety.

link

posted by Lynn Bauman in anecdotes, nature, science 

comments

4 Responses to “A Dolphin Rescues Two Beached Whales”

  1. Deron Bauman on March 13th, 2008 at 7:46 pm

    dang, I love this story.

  2. Lynn Bauman on March 13th, 2008 at 7:54 pm

    yeah, its really an eye-opener… wish I’d been there.

  3. Nathan Harrison on March 14th, 2008 at 4:22 am

    This story is interesting on multiple levels — the one first and foremost in my mind being, what acquired trait drives examples of dolphin heroism? They’ve saved humans too, if the Ripley’s “Believe It Or Not!” books I read as a kid can be trusted.

    What makes this instinct one that benefits their odds of survival as a species, given that whales, etc., aren’t part of the dolphin community?

  4. Deron Bauman on March 14th, 2008 at 10:31 am

    perhaps, as with humans, it is an extension of self-preservation (we take care of each other so we will be taken care of), and a byproduct of self-consciousness. if I pick up this bird and put it back in the nest.

Leave a Reply