Humpback Whales rescue other animals

[Catherine]

This is an amazing piece of news. Humpback whales have been observed rescuing or trying to rescue other species being hunted by killer whales. This is not something we have been aware of with other animals so far. I think it speaks of a much deeper emotional life and greater intelligence than we previously thought.  There is more to Humpback Whales than we expected.

http://news.google.ca/news/url?sr=1&ct2=...t=2&at=dt0

Can you imagine how that seal felt when the whale came to his rescue.

There is a lot more happening in the ocean than we know about.

[LPC]

(08-01-2016, 03:46 PM)Catherine Wrote: I think it speaks of a much deeper emotional life and greater intelligence than we previously thought.

Can you imagine how that seal felt when the whale came to his rescue?

There is a lot more happening in the ocean than we know about.

You make some very important points, Catherine. There is not only intelligence but also noble values (compassion, desire to help...).

[Tobi]

That shows they have compassion which even some humans lack. It is a very interesting discovery.

I have heard stories of Dolphins who sometimes help divers (and other species? Maybe....but I can't remember where the links are for those things now...)

I have also seen news items and some videos of dogs who refuse to abandon other dogs who have been killed in traffic, and who try to drag their bodies off the road. That may have been because they personally knew them. But it seems it is an attempt at 'rescue'. And what about the poor Gorilla, who went to help that little boy who fell...but who sadly was killed for his compassion (because humans read the signs wrongly!)
Oh -and there also was that amazing video of a monkey in an Indian train station, rescuing another who had been electrocuted. The rescue worked, and the unconscious monkey appeared to be recovering well. The monkey seemed to understand exactly what to do and employed shock treatment (repeated dunking in cold water) That may have re-started the other monkey's heart!

[Catherine]

The remarkable thing about this rescue is the fact that the seal was a complete stranger. It was an act of pure altruism. Only a limited number of  people  are capable of such actions. It seems that some animals are capable of such acts also.

It is not just one Humpback Whale who has been seen to save other animals. There seem to be  a number of them. Who knows how many rescues have taken place.


It also brings up the possibility that other animals might be doing acts of kindness that we don't know about. I think if we start looking we might be surprized what we find.
There is more to the world than we know about.