Dolphins proved to a swimmers best friend when they saved a
group of swimmers from attack by a great white shark.
The amazing rescue took place at a beach near Whangarei on New
Zealands North Island when the swimmers were threatened by one of
the oceans most deadly predators.
Lifesavers Rob Howes, his 15-year-old daughter Niccy, Karina Cooper
and Helen Slade were doing lifeguard training 100 meters (300 feet)
off Ocean Beach when their frightening ordeal began.
Menaced by a 3 meter (9 feet) great white, a pod of dolphins raced
immediately to their rescue. The seven animals surrounded the
swimmers for 40 minutes until they could swim to safety.
Initially Howes and his group thought they were being attacked by
the dolphins. He described how the dolphins began to herd them up,
pushing the four of them together by doing tight circles around
them.
He attempted to drift away from the group, but two of the bigger
dolphins herded him back. Just then he spotted a 3 meter great
white shark swimming towards the group.
The shark, he said, was only about 2 meters (6 feet) from him and
he recoiled at the sight of the mighty predator. It was then he
realized the dolphins, far from attacking them, were trying to keep
them from harm.
For a full 40 anxious minutes their dolphin friends formed a
protective barrier around the swimmers, as the shark lurked
menacingly beneath the surface. The dolphins slapped the water with
their tails to scare off the great white.
Howes and his group said they were in no doubt that the dolphins
were trying to protect them.
Dolphin experts say that the creatures are known to attack sharks
to protect themselves and their young, so they could have sensed
the dangers the hapless swimmers were in and moved in to protect
them.
It wouldn't have been the first time dolphins have been hailed for
saving humans from a shark. In Greek mythology, the writer
Herodotus tells how Arion a musician was saved by the sea creatures
after sailors had thrown him from their ship. The dolphins carried
him back to land on their backs, according to the legend.
- November 23, 2004.
