Dolphin Family Help Seal Pup Survive

[Carolyn Bailey]

An incredible video has emerged of a family of dolphins helping a seal pup to avoid almost certain death. In the video, captured by a Canadian film crew, the exhausted baby seal struggles against the current as he drifts ever closer to the shoreline and away from the safety of the deeper waters. This seems to be another example of the cognitive ability and emotional, complex inner lives of individuals other than human. As more footage of such events emerge, it would be wonderful to think that humans will come to understand that these events are not as rare as we seem to assume. 

The seal had somehow become separated from his group and was straying dangerously close to the shore when the pod of bottlenose dolphins arrived. The lone pup had floated into the shallow waters and, exhausted, was drifting close to the shore, unable to save himself by swimming away. Then grey shapes appear in the water nearby as a family of bottlenose dolphins swim into view.

This is the amazing moment when a friendly pod of dolphins intervened to help a struggling seal pup find his way back to deeper water and safety

 

Curious, they swim up to the struggling pup, and then, seeing his distress, offer him their help by nudging the pup gently back to deeper waters.

The remarkable video was captured by a Canadian crew working on a series of documentaries entitled Return to Shark Island for the nature channel Oasis HD.

Safe at last, and saved from near-certain death, the seal pup swam away from his rescuers back into the deep waters

Evidence of other animals lending a helping hand - or fin, or wing - is often recorded among many other species too.

 

Source: Daily Mail