Dolphin Rescues Stranded Whales in New Zealand

A dolphin guided two stranded whales to safety after human attempts to keep the animals off a New Zealand beach failed. Conservation Department officer Malcolm Smith had been working for over an hour and a half to save the two pygmy sperm whales which had repeatedly become stranded despite his attempts to push them back out to sea. In that situation, whales are often humanely killed to end their suffering.

The dolphin Moko has become famous for her antics at Mahia, which include playing in the surf with swimmers, approaching boats to be patted and pushing kayaks through the water with her snout. Smith said Moko arrived on the scene and he could hear the whales and the dolphin making noises, apparently to one another.

"The whales made contact with the dolphin and she basically escorted them about 200 yards parallel with the beach to the edge of the sandbar. Then she did a right-angle turn through quite a narrow channel and escorted them out to sea."