Dolphins save swimmers from shark

dr. what · Post by **dr. what** » 2004-11-23 10:25am

http://edition.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/asiap ... index.html

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.

Enforcer Talen · Post by **Enforcer Talen** » 2004-11-23 10:29am

dolphins are so incredibly kewl.

*chatters excitedly*

SyntaxVorlon · Post by **SyntaxVorlon** » 2004-11-23 10:31am

Wow, very cool.
*waits for excited chatter*

Admiral Valdemar · Post by **Admiral Valdemar** » 2004-11-23 10:32am

Oh great, Shep's training his amphibious army already.

BoredShirtless · Post by **BoredShirtless** » 2004-11-23 10:35am

Whaaaat? Why would a Great White be scared off by a couple of nancy dolphins?

Enforcer Talen · Post by **Enforcer Talen** » 2004-11-23 10:36am

long dolphin noses that can be used as rams

*chatters excitedly*

dr. what · Post by **dr. what** » 2004-11-23 10:37am

Yay dolphins!

*chatters excitedly(with a slight Canadian accent)*

SyntaxVorlon · Post by **SyntaxVorlon** » 2004-11-23 10:38am

For the same reason bears can be scared off by wolves, because there's a fucking bunch of them.

Admiral Valdemar · Post by **Admiral Valdemar** » 2004-11-23 10:40am

BoredShirtless wrote:Whaaaat? Why would a Great White be scared off by a couple of nancy dolphins?

It was a pod, so it's fair to say there was a few of them. A tank shouldn't fear a few soldiers, but get a load of them and you can have problems. Great Whites aren't going to take chances unless starving.

Rogue 9 · Post by **Rogue 9** » 2004-11-23 10:45am

BoredShirtless wrote:Whaaaat? Why would a Great White be scared off by a couple of nancy dolphins?

Ram a great white in the belly and it'll have problems. That's what dolphins do.

BoredShirtless · Post by **BoredShirtless** » 2004-11-23 10:48am

Great Whites take on boats and win; documentry. Clearly these Kiwis are dishonest [redundancy alert!] liars.

Ace Pace · Post by **Ace Pace** » 2004-11-23 10:54am

*chatters happily*

Rogue 9 · Post by **Rogue 9** » 2004-11-23 10:56am

Yes, well a boat isn't several tons of twisting, turning, and ramming dolphin times ten or twelve, now is it? A pod of dolphins can and will kill a shark if they feel it's too much of a menace.

BoredShirtless · Post by **BoredShirtless** » 2004-11-23 11:03am

You know, maybe you should click on the documentry link....

Robert Walper · Post by **Robert Walper** » 2004-11-23 11:03am

Rogue 9 wrote:Yes, well a boat isn't several tons of twisting, turning, and ramming dolphin times ten or twelve, now is it? A pod of dolphins can and will kill a shark if they feel it's too much of a menace.

There's documented cases where a pod of dolphins will attack and kill a shark. Apparently, one of their primary targets for ramming is the shark's gills, quite the vulnerable area for a shark.

The case I read was about a pod that killed a Hammer Head shark.

jcow79 · Post by **jcow79** » 2004-11-23 11:05am

BoredShirtless wrote:Great Whites take on boats and win; documentry. Clearly these Kiwis are dishonest [redundancy alert!] liars.

My first impression was that they made this up. All we have to go in is their testimony. Perhaps they are animal activists that want to portray dolphins as lifesavers. Maybe I'm just jealous that no dolphins ever wanted to save me.

Rogue 9 · Post by **Rogue 9** » 2004-11-23 12:08pm

BoredShirtless wrote:You know, maybe you should click on the documentry link....

I did. Jaws is not a documentary.

Antares · Post by **Antares** » 2004-11-23 03:26pm

Obvious question:
Why should dolphins defend humans?

Any reasonable explanation? Or have i missed the first diplomatic negotiations between humans and doplhins recently?

aerius · Post by **aerius** » 2004-11-23 03:30pm

jcow79 wrote:Maybe I'm just jealous that no dolphins ever wanted to save me.

Or have sex with you.

Mlenk · Post by **Mlenk** » 2004-11-23 03:47pm

aerius wrote: Or have sex with you.

WHAT. THE. FUCK??

Bob the Gunslinger · Post by **Bob the Gunslinger** » 2004-11-23 04:16pm

Antares wrote:Obvious question:
Why should dolphins defend humans?

Any reasonable explanation? Or have i missed the first diplomatic negotiations between humans and doplhins recently?

They probably are smart enough to figure out that humans can feed and protect them, or destroy them with our huge boats and our nukes. If dolphins are as smart as some people claim they are, then they're just taking every opportunity they can to get on our good side. Before it's too late.

Post by **Alyrium Denryle** » 2004-11-23 04:24pm

BoredShirtless wrote:Whaaaat? Why would a Great White be scared off by a couple of nancy dolphins?

The nose of a dolphin is solid bone, and they can swim at speeds of over 30 MPH. They have been OBSERVED attacking sharks, by ramming them in the stomach and gills. They also much smarter, faster and more maneuverable than a great white. A pod of them would chew a Great white up ad spit it back out

Post by **Alyrium Denryle** » 2004-11-23 04:26pm

Antares wrote:Obvious question:
Why should dolphins defend humans?

Any reasonable explanation? Or have i missed the first diplomatic negotiations between humans and doplhins recently?

Dolphins are pack animals, it would only make sense that they would defend a wunded animal that is to large for them to eat. Assuming they are fellow dolphins. Or hell, they could have just ben playing with the humans, and didnt want ther playthings eaten

It is also possible that they are more intelligent than we give them credit for.

Bob the Gunslinger · Post by **Bob the Gunslinger** » 2004-11-23 04:26pm

That was some seriously messed up dolphin love.

I hope that guy doesn't have any pets.

"That's a good boy. That's a goooood boy!"

Oni Koneko Damien · Post by **Oni Koneko Damien** » 2004-11-23 04:26pm

Boredshirtless wrote:Whaaaat? Why would a Great White be scared off by a couple of nancy dolphins?

Because a pod of dolphins can easily kill a shark. First off, their manueverability in water is about equal to a shark's. Secondly, dolphins have bony skeletons, sharks don't. A dolphin ramming into a shark's side will rip right through the cartilage and do some serious damage. IIRC, there have been videotapes of dolphins ganging up and killing hammerhead sharks.

Aside from their jaws, sharks are actually quite vulnerable. Larger sharks, if left in open air, will eventually die as the cartilage inside them is crushed by their own body weight.

-Damien