Like Superhero, Dolphin Saves Beached Pygmy Sperm Whales
by Michael Graham Richard, Gatineau, Canada on 03.12.08
After yesterday's sad story about death camps for cats, here's something more joyous: A bottlenose dolphin, known as Moko to the locals, has rescued two beached pygmy sperm whales 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." That's when, like a superhero, Moko made its entry and seemed to communicate with the whales, leading them to safety.
"I don't speak whale and I don't speak dolphin," Mr Smith told the BBC, "but there was obviously something that went on because the two whales changed their attitude from being quite distressed to following the dolphin quite willingly and directly along the beach and straight out to sea."He added: "The dolphin did what we had failed to do. It was all over in a matter of minutes."
The whales haven't been seen since, but Moko the dolphin has returned and shows up often to pla with swimmers off Mahia beach.
Malcolm Smith was so happy about the turn of events that he actually went into the water to give the dolphin a pat on the back.
::NZ dolphin rescues beached whales
See also: ::Brazilian Fishermen Kill 83 Dolphins, Joke About It, ::Dolphins and Whales 3D: An Unforgettable Experience, ::Whale Power: More Efficienct Fan Blades Mimic Humpback Fins, ::Iceland Calls the Whale Thing Off
Thirsty for more? Check out these related articles:
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- Whales 0, Navy 1: Court Rules In Favor of Lifting Restrictions on Harmful Sonar Use
- Art Au Naturel
I saw a show on the discovery channel or animal planet recently about bottle nosed dolphins systematically bludgeoning porpoises and adolescent dolphins to death by hitting them from underneath and throwing them out of the water.
This is the coolest thing I've heard in a really long time.
Put's Japans dolphin 'culling' practices in a true light.
"I saw a show on the discovery channel or animal planet recently..."
I guess this means they are really intelligent, because humans also do some pretty sick things to each other (WWII, anyone?).
But like humans, they can also do good things. Go Moko!
It's things like this that remind me that we really don't understand that much about the world we live in. How mind blowing is it that two different species of aquatic mammal can communicate well enough to save one's life, yet we can't yet understand either? It blow my mind, at least. What else don't we get?
Like I always say: animals are people too. Stories like this are the rule, not the exception when it comes to animals having intelligence and compassion.
I'm picturing the whales swimming north into the harpoon of the Japanese. Just seems like a typical "human ending" to the story.
This is a great story... made my day.
Last summer a humpback whale beached on my home of Haida Gwaii in Canada. We spent 10 hours and, against all odds, managed to keep it alive until the tide returned. But as the tide rose and we hoped the whale would swim out, he actually just got washed further up the beach. The Haida aboriginal people that were present began to sing, and the message got through to the poor creature. It surged out to sea, and rejoined its mother who was waiting in deeper water.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=iF1I7hJ2rBM
Isn't it interesting the size, color and shape of the pygmy is relatively close to that of the bottlenose dolphin. It could be that they just recognized an animal of the like and followed it out to sea. Who really knows for sure, but leaves the viewers with a wide range of imagination. If you would like to discuss this further check out: http://www.planetflipper.com today!
Thank you Moko. The more whales you can send to us the better.
Much appreciated.
There will be a special award for you should you ever come to Japan, dead or alive. Keep up the good work.
Respectfully,
His Highness, Emperor of Japan.
I feel is lucky when Dolphins try to ketch my wake when I'm windsurfing. They usually roll on their side to get a good look at me. I just can't being myself to ever going in a power boat with these creature in the water.
the radio report I heard said that the dolphin guided the whales out through the deeper passages of water, avoiding the sandbars which could have stranded them again.
I love this story!!!! Its nice to ready something that has nothing to do with death and distruction.
wow, sounds pretty amazing.
but how did the whales get back to the ocean
?
was it all on thier own???
haha thats hilarious, a dolphin actually saved them, it has to be fake hahaha.