Aww!
Brave dolphins protect mom whale and baby from male humpback whales
Patricia Lynn
11.16.22

Dolphins are famous for their incredible intelligence. It’s always interesting to see them playing and talking with other dolphins. It’s also interesting to see how they interact with humans.

But what some people may not realize is that, when the occasion calls for it, they can be aggressive.

Whale Watch
Source:
Whale Watch

A pod of dolphins recently showed that they have compassion for other animals.

When a female whale and her baby were attacked by male whales, the dolphins came to their rescue.

The female whale, whose name is Spirit, was swimming with her calf off the coast of Flinders Bay, on the southwest coast of Western Australia. A group of five large males swam towards them and fought to mate with the mother.

The mother was not interested in mating, as she was still raising her young calf. Male whales will kill babies in order to get the mother to mate with them.

Whale Watch
Source:
Whale Watch

Spirit knew that she had to protect her baby. She did everything she could, but she was simply outnumbered.

It seemed like all hope was lost for Spirit and her calf.

Whale Watch
Source:
Whale Watch

Then, all of a sudden, a group of dolphins swam toward them.

They surrounded the mother and baby, blocking the males from getting to them. Members of Whale Watch WA saw and recorded the entire ordeal.

The dolphins stayed with the exhausted mother. and some of them even showed their teeth to the male whales to scare them away.

Whale Watch
Source:
Whale Watch

At one point, the mother whale swam close to the Whale Watch boat to try to keep her baby safe. Finally, one of the males appeared to realize he was coming on too strongly.

He scared the other male whales away and swam beside the mother and baby as if he was escorting her.

Whale Watch
Source:
Whale Watch

The Whale Watch members who witnessed the incident are calling it amazing.

They are excited to know that whales and dolphins have a close relationship with each other. The dolphins saved the life of the mother and baby that day.

Dolphins have also been known to save the lives of humans.

Many divers and swimmers have shared stories of dolphins pulling them to the surface when they have run out of oxygen or protecting them from sharks and other predators in the water.

Whale Watch
Source:
Whale Watch

The dolphins swam circles around the group until the sharks lost interest and swam away. Rob Howes, who had taken his daughter and her two friends for a swim, explained,

“They started to herd us up, they pushed all four of us together by doing tight circles around us.”

He said that he wasn’t sure if the dolphins were playing or not, but when he tried to swim away, they rushed him back to the safe area. That’s when he saw the shark.

He said, “I just recoiled. It was only about two meters away from me, the water was crystal clear, and it was as clear as the nose on my face. They had corralled us up to protect us”.

Unsplash/Rudney Uezu
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Unsplash/Rudney Uezu

What makes these dolphins care so much about others?

Are they really playing in the right place at the right time, or are they purposely protecting humans and whales?

Unsplash/Ranae Smith
Source:
Unsplash/Ranae Smith

Whatever the reason, the one thing that’s clear is that dolphins are incredibly intelligent and unique. It’s so amazing to see these dolphins helping the mama and baby. What great animals.

Check out the dolphins helping out the mama in the video below!

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