Beachgoers in Brazil give stranded dolphins a helping hand. ©Video by Gerd Traue
When a single whale or dolphin strands itself on a beach, it is usually very sick. When those animals strand themselves in groups, however, other, unknown factors are probably at play.
There are several theories as to why groups of whales will sometimes swim onto beaches around the world. One is that because whales are such highly social creatures, the healthy individuals refuse to abandon a sick or injured fellow pod member and then follow it into the shallow water. Some researchers believe that a disturbance in the Earth’s magnetic field causes an error in the cetaceans’ navigational skills. Other scientists suggest something like mass panic.
Group strandings of dolphins are far less common than those of whales. But just such an event occurred at Arraial do Cabo, Brazil, at 8:00 a.m. on March 5, 2012. Gerd Traue captured the event on film.
Luckily for these dolphins on that day, beachgoers were willing to give a helping hand.
Here’s to finding your true places and natural habitats,
Candy
I loved this video! People instinctively helping other creatures in need–you could see that everyone just went to work immediately, without questioning whether or not they should intervene on the dolphins behalf. It exemplifies such a strong spirit of species interconnectedness–a very heartwarming story.
That was hard to watch, just wanted to jump in the video and help. Thank you for sharing!
Candice,
I saw that on the news and found it to be fabulous! How wonderful of those people to just jump in the water and help the dolphins.
Shalom Candice,
Wow amazing good to see that there are people who care about other creatures.
At such times you can see that there is in man an impulse to help “someone” who is in a position of disadvantage. It is very heartening to see that fact.
I watched this video a few weeks ago and was amazed how the dolphins “trusted” their human counterparts to help them back into the ocean. I hope something like this doesn’t happen again.
Might sometimes have something to do with naval war “games”. The percussion from bombs and loud sonar can do a number on them. I don’t mean just the U.S.’s navy either.