Dolphin Leads Whales To Safety After Human Effort Fails

A bottlenose dolphin off the coast of New Zealand recently lead a group of pygmy sperm whales to safety in a first-hand look of inter-species communication not involving homo sapiens sapiens.

Researchers of the human variety had been unsuccessfully trying to lead the whales out to sea, and just as they were about to give up a female dolphin, known to locals as Moko, showed up, communicated with the whales, and led them safely away from the area where they had been found repeatedly beached.

According to the human assistants:

"I don't speak whale and I don't speak dolphin," Mr Smith told the BBC, "but there was obviously something that went on because the two whales changed their attitude from being quite distressed to following the dolphin quite willingly and directly along the beach and straight out to sea."

He added: "The dolphin did what we had failed to do. It was all over in a matter of minutes."

The awed Mr. Smith did a very un-researcherly thing: he jumped in the water and patted the dolphin lady for a job well done. Thanks for all the fish, indeed.

NZ dolphin rescues beached whales [BBC]