UAE | Environment
Go dolphin!
The men were tired. They had done their best. The pygmy sperm whales had repeatedly beached and were exhausted. Then arrived Moko the dolphin, a female bottlenose who headed straight for the whales and guided them out to sea.
- By Anupa Kurian, Readers Editor
- Published: 14:42 June 19, 2008
The men were tired. They had done their best. The pygmy sperm whales had repeatedly beached and were exhausted. Then arrived Moko the dolphin, a female bottlenose who headed straight for the whales and guided them out to sea. The day was saved.
Not an urban legend but the story of a real-life rescue by a dolphin off Mahia beach in New Zealand. As per a report published on BBC Online, the dolphin completed the rescue in a matter of minutes in March this year. These mammals have been part of many stories of fantastic heroism.
In 2004, an AFP report told of how dolphins saved four men from a great white shark off the coast of New Zealand. Four lifeguards were on a training swim about 100 metres offshore when they were suddenly surrounded by a pod of dolphins.
The animals started herding them and eventually the four of them realised that a three-metre-long great white shark was swimming towards them about two metres below the surface.
The dolphins herded them for over 40 minutes before they managed to make it ashore. According to Dr Rochelle Constantine quoted in the report, dolphins "like to help".
There are other tales of dolphins rescuing sailors, guiding ships and saving lives, especially during war.
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While some may have taken on mythical proportions, scientists feel that these aquatic mammals do have a strong altruistic streak in them. But that has to be accompanied with the respect due to any wild animal.
While the Dubai Dolphinarium at the Creek Park prepares for its grand opening today, Gulf News offers you some insight into what makes the bottlenose click.
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