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A nice heartfelt story
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| MisterOpus1 |
For them to protect their young is one thing, for them to protect an entirely different species, esp. one that indirectly kills them (i.e. fish nets), that may be stretching it a bit, though I guess it's still plausible:
| quote: | WELLINGTON, New Zealand (Reuters) -- A pod of dolphins circled protectively round a group of New Zealand swimmers to fend off an attack by a great white shark, media reported on Tuesday.
Lifesavers Rob Howes, his 15-year-old daughter Niccy, Karina Cooper and Helen Slade were swimming 100 metres (300 feet) off Ocean Beach near Whangarei on New Zealand's North Island when the dolphins herded them -- apparently to protect them from a shark.
"They started to herd us up, they pushed all four of us together by doing tight circles around us," Howes told the New Zealand Press Association (NZPA).
Howes tried to drift away from the group, but two of the bigger dolphins herded him back just as he spotted a three-meter (nine feet) great white shark swimming towards the group.
"I just recoiled. It was only about 2 meters (6 feet) away from me, the water was crystal clear and it was as clear as the nose on my face," Howes said.
"They had corralled us up to protect us," he said.
The lifesavers spent the next 40 minutes surrounded by the dolphins before they could safely swim back to shore.
The incident happened on October 30, but the lifesavers kept the story to themselves until now.
Environment group Orca Research said dolphins attacked sharks to protect themselves and their young, so their actions in protecting the lifesavers was understandable.
"They could have sensed the danger to the swimmers and taken action to protect them," Orca's Ingrid Visser told NZPA.
http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/asiap...reut/index.html |
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| Halcyon+On+On |
Damn those evil, evil sharks! I heard New Zealanders don't taste all that great anyways. :p
Nice story. ;) |
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| XaNaX |
| quote: | Originally posted by MisterOpus1
for them to protect an entirely different species, esp. one that indirectly kills them (i.e. fish nets), that may be stretching it a bit |
Fortunately for those swimmers, animals are not capable of rational thought. They only operate on instincts, and their instinct was to protect them. |
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| amnesiak |
| Dolphins are awesome and this proves it. I want a pet dolphin. |
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| Seventil |
Well, the shark was only 3 meters, which is somewhat small for great whites. However, for dolphins and sharks to be around, there was most likely tuna, or another large fish school nearby. The shark probably just near the swimmers, the swimmers saw the dolphins, and the story bloomed into one of heroism on the part of a non-sentient animal. Possible? Yes. Probable? Eh, maybe. It makes the story interesting, at least.
Oh, and for the record, I will welcome our new dolphin overlords in the near future. |
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| ATL_Trancer |
| quote: | Originally posted by amnesiak
Dolphins are awesome and this proves it. I want a pet dolphin. |
+1 |
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| occrider |
| This is making me hungry for some delicious canned dolphin. |
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| UWM |
| quote: | Originally posted by occrider
This is making me hungry for some delicious canned dolphin. |
:haha:
I was waiting to see how long it took for this response. |
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| Gholy Host |
| Dolphins are cool. Nice story. :) |
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| tribu |
Very nice story, though I definitely have my doubts.
| quote: | | The incident happened on October 30, but the lifesavers kept the story to themselves until now. |
Suuuure it happened..... ;) |
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| JM |
apparently dolphins are super smart, they say they're the 2nd smartest animal after humans. but some people are so stupid sometimes.. so i dunno.
>JM< |
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| trancebrat |
I have heard many stories like this. I've studied dolphins. Similar incidents have happened all over the world.
Just a few examples:
| quote: | Dolphins save swimmer from shark
By The Associated Press
CAIRO, Egypt -- Martin Richardson went for a swim among dolphins but found they were much more than gentle playmates. They can be lifesavers.
Mr. Richardson, a Briton, was swimming in the Red Sea off Egypt's Sinai Peninsula when he was attacked by a shark. Companions aboard a diving boat heard him scream.
"Something took a bite of my side," Mr. Richardson, a 29-year-old diver, told The Associated Press by telephone from el-Tur on Wednesday. "I started panicking for a bit, then it took another chunk of my upper arm."
Mr. Richardson's companions then watched as three bottlenose dolphins encircled the wounded man, flapping their fins and tails and scaring off the shark.
"This defensive behavior of dolphins is common when mothers are protecting their calves from predators," said a statement by the Recanati Center for Maritime Studies at the University of Haifa in Israel.
The statement said the dolphins continued to circle for several minutes until Mr. Richardson's companions reached him.
The attack occurred Tuesday a half mile off Marsa Bareika at the tip of Sinai. Mr. Richardson was rushed to an Egyptian military hospital at el-Tur, 55 miles to the northwest.
Mr. Richardson, of Colchester, England, suffered bites in the left shoulder, stomach and back, including one that slightly punctured his lung, Dr. Emad Allam said by telephone from the hospital Wednesday.
Mr. Richardson can now "walk, talk and eat normally," Dr. Allam said, but will remain hospitalized for at least a week.
New Standard 7/26/96
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| quote: | Dolphin saves boy's life
Boy pushed back to his boat after fall
August 30, 2000 - Daily Record - Scotland
A friendly dolphin has saved a teenage boy from drowning.
Non-swimmer Davide Ceci, 14, was within minutes of death when dolphin Filippo came to his rescue.
The friendly 61-stone creature has been a popular tourist attraction off Manfredonia in south-east Italy for two years.
But now he is a local hero after saving Davide from the Adriatic when he fell from his father's boat.
While Emanuele Ceci was still unaware his son had fallen into the waves, Filippo was pushing him up out of the water to safety.
Davide said: "When I realised it was Filippo pushing me, I grabbed on to him."
The dolphin bore down on the boat and got close enough for Davide's father to grab his gasping son.
Davide's mother Signora Ceci said: "It is a hero, it seems impossible an animal could have done something like that, to feel the instinct to save a human life."
Filippo has lived in the waters off Manfredonia since he became separated from a visiting school of dolphins.
Maritime researcher Dr Giovanna Barbieri said: "Filippo seems not to have the slightest fear of humans. I'm not surprised he should have done such a wonderful thing as to save a human." |
| quote: |
Dolphins save man from shark attack
Updated 23 July 2002, 14.04
A man in Australia said a group of dolphins saved his life by chasing away man-eating sharks.
Fisherman Grant Dickson was left stranded in the sea off the coast of Queensland after his boat sank in stormy weather.
His two other crew members are feared dead.
Mr Dickson said he was left clinging to his upturned boat and could see sharks circling around him. He feared it was only a matter of time before they attacked him.
But at the last minute, a group of dolphins appeared and scared off the sharks.
He was in the sea for several hours, before he was rescued by a passing ship.
Mr Dickson is now in hospital recovering from his ordeal, but is very grateful to the friendly dolphins who helped save him! |
| quote: | | Dolphins are the most gentle and intelligent mammals after humans, and this becomes particularly evident when you meet them. They are as curious about us as we are about them. After all, we are not inhabitants of their oceanic home. We must seem strange, even awkward, to them as we float and swim around them watching their graceful movements. Many stories are told regarding the legendary nature of dolphins, one being that they have long brought luck to sailors. It has been said that they lead ships through dangerous waters to safety and that they save drowning seafarers. One recent example of dolphins helping humans is the Elian Gonzalez drama. While escaping Cuba, Elian clung to an inner tube for about 50 hours, and during that time, he says, dolphins kept him afloat by pushing him up whenever he tried to let go. |
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