In most cases, whales and dolphins likely do not actively save humans but are instead protecting themselves or their young from sharks.
In the program “Saved from a Shark” by National Geographic, Martin Richardson recounts his encounter with a mako shark (Isurus oxyrinchus) while swimming in the Red Sea, Egypt, as reported by Live Science on July 1. He was bitten about five times and was waiting for death when something unusual happened.
Martin Richardson was bitten multiple times by a shark but survived. (Photo: Getty).
“There was no reason for the shark to stop. I had lost over 2 liters of blood, and you only have about 4.5 to 5 liters of blood in your body. I knew it was swimming around me. I turned away and looked at the mountains, giving up on everything,” Richardson said.
However, a pod of dolphins suddenly appeared right behind Richardson, and the shark’s attack ceased. He was pulled onto a boat and quickly taken to the hospital, where he received over 300 stitches. “I am sure that the dolphins saved my life,” he stated.
“Being saved by another animal is definitely a very romantic thought,” commented Tom Hird, a marine biologist and shark conservationist. However, in most cases, this is not really clear.
According to Mike Heithaus, a professor of biological sciences at Florida International University, it is unlikely that dolphins actively saved Richardson. “The pod of dolphins saw a large amount of blood; they knew there was a shark around. If there were young ones, they would want to chase the shark away from them. They might not have been trying to save Martin,” he noted.
Another case mentioned in the program is Nan Hauser, director of the Cook Islands Whale Research organization. In 2017, the humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) that Hauser was diving with saved her from a lurking tiger shark (Galeocerdo cuvier). During the encounter, the whale approached Hauser, nudged her, and used its snout to lift her up.
“The whale looked at me, and I knew it had something to say. I didn’t understand, but it wanted me to understand. I looked down into the deep blue sea and saw the tiger shark right below me,” Hauser recounted.
Footage capturing the event shows the whale acting as it would to protect its young, according to Heithaus. He stated that in most cases, whales and dolphins probably do not protect humans out of love; they are more likely trying to safeguard themselves or their young.
