Moko Saves the Day!

March 16, 2008 7:26 AM

Dolphin rescues beached whales

another reminder that animals really are smarter than you think :P [via]

posted by kliuless (32 comments total)

Well, except the stupid, getting-themselves-beached whales.
posted by DU at 7:30 AM on March 16, 2008 [4 favorites has favorites]

Probably making up for all the other times dolphins eat whales.
posted by afu at 8:22 AM on March 16, 2008

I think the dolphins were taunting them: "Ha ha, way to go you whale jackasses! Nice move!"

And the one whale looks at the other one and says, "Right, enough of this shit."
posted by Turtles all the way down at 8:24 AM on March 16, 2008

"We can outsmart those dolphins. Don't forget -- we invented computers, leg warmers, bendy straws, peel-and-eat shrimp, the glory hole, AND the pudding cup."
posted by NotMyselfRightNow at 8:27 AM on March 16, 2008

afu: That link is to a news report about a pod of killer whales attacking a gray whale.
posted by rdr at 8:30 AM on March 16, 2008

Yeah, but they couldn't send Jamboo to the Moon, now, could they?
posted by DenOfSizer at 8:35 AM on March 16, 2008

rdr: Killer whales are dolphins.
posted by LeeJay at 9:03 AM on March 16, 2008

Killer whales are dolphins, big freaking dolphins, but still dolphins.
posted by afu at 9:07 AM on March 16, 2008

Just as tigers are cats, correct?
posted by Flashman at 9:15 AM on March 16, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

i heard about this on npr the other day. totally cool story
posted by Addiction at 9:16 AM on March 16, 2008

Wow, so no one thinks it's awesome that a dolphin went out of its way to save the lives of two beached whales?

Well, it is. Extremely awesome. So is the large number of stories of dolphins going out of their way to save other creatures. Yeah, dolphins can be aggressive and mean. But stories of inter-species cooperation like this make me smile, not least because of the over-emphasis on violence we see in pop culture representations of nature.
posted by mediareport at 9:19 AM on March 16, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

He probably did it on porpoise.
posted by punkfloyd at 9:37 AM on March 16, 2008 [6 favorites has favorites]

The wild can be pretty wild. Great story. Interspecies assistance and communication.
posted by juiceCake at 9:46 AM on March 16, 2008

We all could learn a lot from that dolphin.
posted by Flashman at 10:10 AM on March 16, 2008

"Wow, so no one thinks it's awesome that a dolphin went out of its way to save the lives of two beached whales?"

Saved? Ha! It was just ordering them to abort the botched invasion plan! They'll be back...
posted by Auz at 10:14 AM on March 16, 2008

We all could learn a lot from that dolphin.

I once released a caged dove into the sky at a wedding reception. Do I get credit for that?
posted by HotPatatta at 10:16 AM on March 16, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

so no one thinks it's awesome that a dolphin went out of its way to save the lives of two beached whales?

out of his way?
posted by micayetoca at 10:17 AM on March 16, 2008 [2 favorites has favorites]

It was just ordering them to abort the botched invasion plan! They'll be back...

Yep. First it was the Bay of Pigs. Now it's dolphins and whales. What will they think of next? Flying monkeys?
posted by HotPatatta at 10:23 AM on March 16, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

We all could learn a lot from that dolphin.

click click EEE click clickclick EEEEEWEEEEEEEEE click WHEEEEEEEET EEEE EEE EEEEEEEEEEE click click click click EEET WhaEEEEEEEEE EEEEET click click EEEEEE EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE click
posted by Greg Nog at 10:59 AM on March 16, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

The dolphin was just telling them to get off his lawn.
posted by srboisvert at 11:04 AM on March 16, 2008 [4 favorites has favorites]

I once released a caged dove into the sky at a wedding reception. Do I get credit for that?

If the dove walked into the cage and couldn't figure out how to get out, then yes.
posted by juiceCake at 11:18 AM on March 16, 2008

Good PR for the dolphins. DOLPHIN MEAT NO!
posted by gorgor_balabala at 11:34 AM on March 16, 2008

And here was me refraining from posting that because it was just a cute local news story.
posted by i_am_joe's_spleen at 11:48 AM on March 16, 2008

WhaEEEEEEEEE

wha!?

just a cute local news story

exactly so :P
posted by kliuless at 11:54 AM on March 16, 2008

So long and thanks for all the fish.
posted by ninjew at 12:17 PM on March 16, 2008 [2 favorites has favorites]

Dolphin rescues beached whales

Dolphin rescues did what?
posted by cillit bang at 1:08 PM on March 16, 2008

I wonder if they have tales of someone who could swim on land.
posted by Pronoiac at 1:15 PM on March 16, 2008

Wait so different species can talk to each other?

...Disney movies were right?
posted by shakespeherian at 1:46 PM on March 16, 2008

A popular local dolphin in, who btw for some reason has deigned homo sapes to be interesting enough to hang around and befriend, appears suddenly and somehow directs two panicked members of another species of the same order (cetacea) but different family (Delphinidae and Kogiidae) by means of what appears to be communication to emotionally re-adjust, then to dislodge from a threatening situations, and then onto safety.

Just so we have the specifics clear as to what is significant about what took place.

In other news, an approach to existence called science which, while singularly useful in a number of other regards, is incapable of owning up to its own shortcomings. Subsequently, what is obvious to most—that reality forms around consciousness and not the other way round—is held by science to be merely philosophical, unprovable (meaning unscientific), and therefore inconsequential.

However, in our regularly scheduled programming already in progress, any number of individual members of species are intelligently sentient and comfortably communicating among one another.

Remember! When considering a species for intelligence, never consider mean average and always consider median. Otherwise, the error is human!
posted by humannaire at 4:54 PM on March 16, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

Wait so different species can talk to each other?

My cat understands "Get the fuck off of there!" Well, when he feels like it.
posted by dhartung at 10:37 PM on March 16, 2008

All the questions you wanted to ask, but were unable to due to poor inter-species communication.
posted by asok at 5:09 AM on March 17, 2008

Some people stand in darkness. Afraid to step into the light.
Some people need to help somebody when the edge of surrender is in sight.
posted by Smedleyman at 7:38 AM on March 17, 2008