Dolphins are known to be friendly, intelligent and social. But altruistic?
Yes, apparently. At least if you’re a pygmy whale.
Just yesterday, a dolphin known as Moko helped save two pygmy whales–a mom and her calf–who were in danger of being stranded on a beach on the east coast of New Zealand’s North Island.
Rescue workers tried in vain for more than an hour to orient the whales, to no avail. But then along came Moko, and within moments the dolphin had the whales swimming back out to sea and basically saved their lives. (See a video of Moko here.)
Moko has been a regular visitor to the beach, hanging out to play with swimmers. He (or is it she?) happened along just at the right time to help the whales. Experts think that Moko heard the whales’ distress calls, swam right up to them and saved the day. It’s the first time anyone’s seen or heard or a dolphin doing such a thing.
Scientists don’t know why whales get stranded on beaches. And when it happens, the beached whales almost always die. But at least two were saved, thanks to Moko.
Source: Reuters
Hey, check out http://www.planetflipper.com today to discuss further!
From ancient Greece to the present we have heard many good things about dolphins. Recently I was thrilled to capture this video of them playing the the wake of a Greek island ferry.
Cheers,