Moko to the rescue

[Ray Ludenia]

>

 From ABC news: (Australian ABC!)

> *Dolphin rescues stranded NZ whales*
>
> A dolphin has guided two stranded whales to safety after human  
> attempts to keep the animals off a New Zealand beach failed, a  
> conservation official said.
>
> "I've never heard of anything like this before, it was amazing,"  
> Conservation Department officer Malcolm Smith said.
>
> The actions of the dolphin, known for playing with people in the  
> water at Mahia Beach on the east coast of the North Island, probably  
> meant the difference between life and death for the whales, he said.
>
> Mr Smith had been working for over an hour-and-a-half to save the  
> two pygmy sperm whales, which had repeatedly become stranded despite  
> his attempts to push them back out to sea.
>
> A dolphin, named Moko by locals, appeared and guided the whales to  
> safety after apparently communicating with them, he said.
>
> The whales, a three-metre female and her 1.5-metre male calf, were  
> apparently confused by a sandbar just off the beach and could not  
> find their way back to open water.
>
> Mr Smith had been alerted at daybreak by a neighbour about the two  
> stranded whales on Mahia Beach near his home.
>
> "Over the next hour and a half I pushed them back out to sea two or  
> three times and they were very reluctant to move offshore," he said.
>
> "I was starting to get cold and wet and they were becoming tired. I  
> was reaching the stage where I was thinking it's about time to give  
> up here, I've done as much as I can."
>
> In that situation, whales are often humanely killed to end their  
> suffering.
>
> Moko to the rescue
>
> Mr Smith said Moko arrived on the scene and he could hear the whales  
> and the dolphin making noises, apparently to one another.
>
> "The whales made contact with the dolphin and she basically escorted  
> them about 200 metres parallel with the beach to the edge of the  
> sandbar," he said.
>
> "Then she did a right-angle turn through quite a narrow channel and  
> escorted them out to sea and we haven't seen those whales since.
>
> "What the communication was I do not know, and I was not aware  
> dolphins could communicate with pygmy sperm whales, but something  
> happened that allowed Moko to guide those two whales to safety."
>
> Soon after, Moko was seen playing with swimmers on Mahia Beach, one  
> of her favourite activities since she took up residence at the beach  
> nearly a year ago.
>
> The two-metre bottlenose dolphin has become well known for her  
> antics at Mahia, which include playing in the surf with swimmers,  
> approaching boats to be patted and pushing kayaks through the water  
> with her snout.
>
> "She likes people with flippers on, she's attracted to them, she's  
> attracted to kayaks and boogy boards as well, and that'll keep her  
> occupied for some time," Mr Smith said.
>
> Such close interaction with humans is very rare among dolphins but  
> not unknown.
>
> "She's become isolated from her pod obviously for one reason or  
> another, but obviously made Mahia home just at the moment."
>
> Mahia gets up to 30 whale strandings a year, most of which end with  
> the whales having to be put down.
>
> "I don't know if next time we have a whale stranding we can get her  
> to come in again. She certainly saved the day for us and the whales  
> this time."
>
> - AFP