• Question: Why do dolphins protect humans from sharks?

    Asked by cbell13 to Valeria, Charlotte, Jo, Kevin, Louise on 22 Jun 2012. This question was also asked by meganunwin.
    • Photo: Joanna Cruden

      Joanna Cruden answered on 22 Jun 2012:


      nobody knows for sure but they protect other dolphins when they are in distress so it may be a reaction to seeing another animal in distress

    • Photo: Kevin Mahon

      Kevin Mahon answered on 22 Jun 2012:


      Dolphin/Shark interactions are something that have been talked about in length on animal websites and newspapers when reporting these strange incidents but we are yet to see any real scientific study into this phenomenom – although it seems we get reported cases every year so it’s obviously something zoologists should look into!

      One theory at the moment is that dolphins that protect the humans have previously encoutered the shark in question and are trying to disrupt them – as ‘payback’ of sorts as it is believed the shark may have previously attacked the dolphin. Interesting idea, but not something we can prove just yet!

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