Dolphins surround swimmers, fend off Great White.

story.news.yahoo.com.../nm/20041123/sc_nm/life_newzealand_dolphins_dc

I know that dolphins don't fall under the "cryptozoology" aspect of the forum, but they most definitely fall under the "mystical" part. What makes these creatures so noble?

Anyway, you have to like a story like this.

I dont think its mystical at all, its just part of fundamental emotion. We see species taking care of other species all the time, its just that humans stand out.

im from Fl and we used to see this all the time its how we used to get the kids to play in the water we would say look there are the dolphins it is safe to swim. But what they dont tell you is some times they can hurt you and not mean to first they start by swimming with you and when the rest of the pod comes they get a little rough and dont mean to they just start to play hard

theyve also been known to surround and protect sick or injured sharks from other sharks that would attack/feed on it as well.

they are the smartest animals that live in the ocean...i think ( i could be wrong ) research has claimed that they have the equivalent intelligence of a 5 year old boy...

so i wouldnt put it past them that they too can feel some sort of emotion, which drives them to protect other animals.

I read about this one, Great Story!

It is not the first tim eit has happened, the Aussies have stories back to the 1800's

yeah well, considering most of us live along the ocean lines, we tend to get into trouble with water like that quite a bit.....

Well, I've always been fascinated by dolphins. I wish I could remember the URL, but I read a fascinating article once by a person who claims that dolphins are in fact remnants of an alien race. Apparently they're here to monitor or help us or something, I don't remember. I wish I had more information on the subject. It may not be very believable, but it's an idea and an interesting one in my opinion. If I find the URL I'll post it.

This isn't the one I read originally, but at ufocasebook.com/alientypes.html I found an article that was explaining the different types of aliens. Here's an excerpt from it:

"[GROUP D] Greys

Of the six groups discussed in this paper, the Greys appear to represent the only non-human contingent. The following data should be considered tentative at best. Height is approximately five and a half feet. The head is large; eyes large, black and very slanted. Skin color is dark grey and non-porous. All data so far indicates that they may be a cetacean-based life form. On Earth, this comprises the species of whales and dolphins. Descriptions of Greys' skin color and texture closely match that of dolphins. The stare and stun effects approximate that performed by dolphins on potential enemies, such as sharks and barracuda. Human and dolphin fetuses are nearly identical, up to a certain development stage. Some say they share a common genetic ancestor. If so, then this makes the hybridization of humans and dolphins theoretically feasible. "


It's not much, but it's kind of interesting. I recall hearing the comparison between how alien abductees have described aliens and what dolphins are like. In that comparison they said the skin color and texture is nearly the exact same, and that the way they communicate with the clicks and stuff, (echolocation), is quite similar. They also said that the fact that people can be paralyzed by aliens, possibly with some sort of brainpower, is reminiscent of the way dolphins can paralyze their prey from a distance.

Anyway, I don't know how much creedence I give to these claims, but it's interesting and a it's a possibility. Dolphins are amazing creatures either way, and in more ways than can count.

[edit on 24-11-2004 by an3rkist]

[edit on 24-11-2004 by an3rkist]

I dont know how noble Bottlenose Dolphins are since it just came to light they are killing harbor porpoise a close smaller cousin of theirs.Researchers discovered that bottlenose dolphins were responsible for approximately 60% of harbour porpoise deaths in an area along the north-east coast of Scotland.

Unlike most wild animals that kill for food, the dolphins did not eat the victims of their attacks, and so their murderous urges were unrelated to the need for food.

They have found bodies of harbor porpoise with wounds that match those that a bottlenose would inflict. But now they even have video evidence of a attack taking place.

It has even be proven that adult Bottlenose dolphins will kill other baby Bottlenose dolphins. Not quite so noble after all

www.polperro.com.au...

Dolphins often protect swimmers or people in the water from great white sharks,it's reported quite often down under. They have got to be one of the smartest creatures in the ocean, & their protection of humans is something quite amazing. The only other smart creature I can think of off hand, from the ocean, has got to be the squid.

maybe they wage war just like people do? we dont kill other people for food either.

This is a fantastic story. Like others have stated in this thread, this is not the first act of heroism by a dolphin that has been reported. It always makes me feel good to hear of an act of heroism by any animal. I have a dog and 4 cats. Love them all. Dolphins having the inteligence of a 5 year old doesn't surprise me either. Every time you see a dolphin clip on T.V. they are always doing something amazing (i.e. sychronized back flips and such).

doctorduh

we get dolphins of the coast of portugal all the time and ive swam relativeley close to them in the wild (about 20metres away) my ex girlfriend has swam with them in captivity and it was a very emotional experience for her.
I think ive read that they can tell if your pregnant or not with their sonar as well?
Theres a few storys ive heard of them protecting swimmers from sharks,for sure there probably the most intelligent life form on the planet after humans.....well thats if you class "humans" as being intelligent? lol

Regards.

yeah i saw this story on the news, i was quite surprised? another animal looking out and defending us? i think its amazing. apparently they have the largest brain to body weight ratio, besides us humans ofcorse. only if we found some way to communicate with them....

I had posetd this some time ago...

Was this the Dolphin Hordes PR department getting some good exposure?

I have heard stories of mantarays protecting swimmers from sharks....so isn't really that amazing

Originally posted by Volkgeister
I have heard stories of mantarays protecting swimmers from sharks....so isn't really that amazing

Interesting I have never heard of this. What I am trying to figure out is how a manta ray can have any sound defense against the shark. I mean dolphins are fast, intelligent and have powerful beaks which they can ram sharks with. What does a manta have?

I think that dolphins are indeed one of, if not the most, intelligent creatures in the sea, with the next most notable candidate being the orca. Orca have sophisticated hunting strategies and intricate social order, I find them remarkable (if not brutish).

Oracs are often considered to be the smartest animal in the sea even more so then Dolphins. Their brains are far bigger then that of dolphins.An orca's brain is nearly four times the size of a human brain.

I believe the way they communicate is more complex .Baby orcas learn discrete vocalizations referred to as dialects. These calls vary from pod to pod, even among pods that inhabit the same waterway

They also have great hunting strategies like you stated. They are the only members of the whole Cetaceans family that will beach themselves on purpose for hunting.

At any rate Orcas are for sure the undisputed kings of the sea nothing will mess with a pod of killer whales. I have even seen them kill a Great white one on one and they can harass even the largest whales. I think they have even been known to kill grey and blue whales to eat their tongues.



[edit on 25-11-2004 by ShadowXIX]

Dolphins are really interesting aninmals and can be a handful as some people suggested.

As for them being alien, Hmmmm? Who knows!

The sea creatures I personally like are dolphins, as for the killer whales nice but for me they are fat and it isnt about a bigger brain. A brain could be as big as a house, its how one uses their brain.

Thats why dolphins always come out on top. (I even go as far to say dolphins would kick the fins off killer whales). I could be wrong though!-

Originally posted by ShadowXIX
Oracs are often considered to be the smartest animal in the sea even more so then Dolphins. Their brains are far bigger then that of dolphins.An orca's brain is nearly four times the size of a human brain.

If you're going to base intelligence on the size of the brain than saying the orca is the smartest in animal in the sea is wrong, because the sperm whale has the largest brain of all the sea creatures. It's brain can weigh up to 20 pounds. (A human brain weighs about 3.9 pounds.)

Humans, on the other hand, have the largest brains in relation to their body size.

I, however, think intelligence has absolutely nothing to do with the size of the brain.

(Just an interesting bit of useless trivia: The dolphin sleeps by shutting only half of it's brain down at a time, leaving the other half to control the body and be aware of predators and such. Then when that side of the brain has gotten sufficient rest, it turns it back on and shuts the other half down. That's some brain power if you ask me!)

We human beings could sure learn a lesson from these creatures.