Tuesday, December 07, 2004
Dolphins Saved Us from Shark, Lifeguards Say - New Zealand Herald
A pod of dolphins is being credited with saving a group of lifeguards from a circling great white shark. Lifeguard Rob Howes, his daughter Niccy, 15, Karina Cooper, 15, and Helen Slade, 16, were swimming 100m out to sea at Ocean Beach, near Whangarei, when seven bottlenose dolphins sped towards them and herded them together. ...
[A] 3m-long great white shark . . . glided around in an arc and headed for the other two girls. My heart went into my mouth, because one of them was my daughter. The dolphins were going ballistic." The 47-year-old said the dolphins herded the swimmers - who are all members of the Whangarei Heads Surf Lifesaving Club - back together and circled protectively around them for another 40 minutes, fending off the shark.
...
Dr Rochelle Constantine, from the Auckland University School of Biological Science, said it was a rare event, but she had heard of similar things happening overseas. [She said] dolphins are known for helping helpless things. It is an altruistic response and bottlenose dolphins in particular are known for it."...
A pod of dolphins is being credited with saving a group of lifeguards from a circling great white shark. Lifeguard Rob Howes, his daughter Niccy, 15, Karina Cooper, 15, and Helen Slade, 16, were swimming 100m out to sea at Ocean Beach, near Whangarei, when seven bottlenose dolphins sped towards them and herded them together. ...
[A] 3m-long great white shark . . . glided around in an arc and headed for the other two girls. My heart went into my mouth, because one of them was my daughter. The dolphins were going ballistic." The 47-year-old said the dolphins herded the swimmers - who are all members of the Whangarei Heads Surf Lifesaving Club - back together and circled protectively around them for another 40 minutes, fending off the shark.
...
Dr Rochelle Constantine, from the Auckland University School of Biological Science, said it was a rare event, but she had heard of similar things happening overseas. [She said] dolphins are known for helping helpless things. It is an altruistic response and bottlenose dolphins in particular are known for it."...
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