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The King Of Karaoke
> Teenager of the Year <
USA
3759 Posts |
 Posted - 12/16/2004 : 20:22:45
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http://www.cbc.ca/story/world/national/2004/11/24/dolphin_newzealand041124.html
Dolphins save swimmers from shark
Last Updated Wed, 24 Nov 2004 20:51:08 EST
WHANGAREI, N.Z. - A group of lifeguards swimming off the coast of New Zealand may have been saved from a shark attack recently by several protective dolphins that helped to hold the predator at bay.
Lifeguard Rob Howes said he and three female lifeguards were on a training swim about 100 metres off Ocean Beach near Whangarei on the North Island.
About halfway through the swim, a pod of dolphins "came steaming at us" and started circling, startling the swimmers, he said.
Howes said he was unnerved by speed of the approach, thinking perhaps it was a group of aggressive males or dolphins protecting their baby.
The dolphins bunched the four swimmers together by circling about 4-8 centimetres from them, and slapping the water with their tails for about 40 minutes.
Howes said he drifted away from the main group when an opening occurred. One large dolphin became agitated and submerged toward Howes, who turned to see where it would surface.
That, he says, is when he saw a great white shark about two metres away in the beach's crystal clear waters.
"The form came and travelled in an arc around me. I knew instinctively what it was," he said.
When the shark started moving toward the women, including his 15-year-old daughter, the dolphins "went into hyperdrive," said Howes.
"I would suggest they were creating a confusion screen around the girls. It was just a mass of fins, backs and ... human heads."
The shark left as a rescue boat neared, but the dolphins remained close by as the group swam back to shore. At no point did the shark break the surface of the water, remaining near the bottom, he said.
Howes said he didn't tell the rest of the group about the shark until the next day.
"I came out of that water and I was stunned. I had no idea how to relay what had happened and how to deal with it," said Howes.
While this all happened on Oct. 30, the swimmers didn't tell their story until recently.
He says he spent the next few weeks talking with dolphin experts about the incident, who told him it wasn't unusual for dolphins to protect swimmers.
There've been a number of great white sightings in the area at this time of year, mainly because they come into the harbours to give birth, said Howes.
Written by CBC News Online staff
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floop
= Wannabe Volunteer =
Mexico
15297 Posts |
Posted - 12/16/2004 : 20:39:26
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horray for dolphins!
and gentle ben
ist es möglich für ein quesadilla skrotum zu lecken? beim sprechen der quesadillas von LBF, ja. ja in der tatheheheheheheehehee! |
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mun chien andalusia
= Quote Accumulator =
Italy
2139 Posts |
Posted - 12/17/2004 : 04:33:51
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apparently these dolphins are dead now. killed by illegal fishermen there were found dead on the beach not far from where they saved those people. unfortunately i can't find the link.
bottom line: never save humans.
 join the cult of errol\and you can have a beer\without having to quit smoking
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mun chien andalusia
= Quote Accumulator =
Italy
2139 Posts |
Posted - 12/17/2004 : 04:38:55
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here's the story
http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/international.cfm?id=1362192004
Poachers kill 'dolphins that saved swimmers'
ALEX MITA
POACHERS in New Zealand may have killed two members of a pod of dolphins that recently saved the lives of swimmers from a great white shark attack, lifeguards said yesterday.
The mutilated carcasses of the two bottlenose dolphins were found on Wednesday in the Awaroa River, which branches off the upper reaches of Whangarei Harbour on North Island’s east coast.
Staff from New Zealand’s Department of Conservation (DOC) believe the dolphins died about two weeks ago after drowning in fishing nets set out by criminals poaching fish. DOC officer Richard Parrish said their tails had been hacked off, probably to free them from the net.
Three weeks ago, seven dolphins protected Ocean Beach lifeguard Rob Howes, 45, his 15-year-old daughter Nicky, 16-year-old lifeguard trainee Helen Slade, and Karina Cooper, 15, from the jaws of a great white shark at Ocean Beach, Whangarei Heads.
The protective dolphins have been hailed as the humans’ saviours after the incident was reported this week.
Mr Howes was on a training swim with the teenagers to mark Helen's first day as a lifeguard.
The group was 100 metres from the beach when around seven agitated dolphins appeared. The pod formed a protective shield around the swimmers and even herded Mr Howes back when he tried to swim away.
The girls thought the dolphins were playing as they swam round them in tight circles, thrashing their tails, but Mr Howes finally spotted the outline of a 10ft great white. The dolphins warded off the shark for 45 minutes and only when it moved off did they allow the swimmers to head for the shore.
The discovery of the dead dolphins has outraged the local community and shocked Mr Howes and Miss Slade, who feared the two mammals may have been a part of the pod that saved them.
An angry Mr Howes said whoever mutilated the dolphins should be castrated.
"In light of what has happened at Ocean Beach I would give them a taste of their own medicine," he said. "This is how we repay them for their help?"
He said setting illegal nets where dolphins could get tangled up in them amounted to "indiscriminate murder," and added that the discovery would put a lot of fishermen under pressure.
"There will be a public outcry against the use of nets," he said.
Miss Slade said she was disgusted to hear what had happened to the dolphins.
"Why would they do such a thing?" she asked.
Fishing with illegal nets, failing to report finding a dolphin in a net, and mutilating a marine mammal are all offences carrying a maximum 10,000 New Zealand dollars fine.
Bay Of Islands SPCA inspector Jim Boyd said fishermen needed to change their habits and not set nets where dolphins could be caught.
"(Dolphins) drown in the nets because they cannot get to the surface for air," he said.
Mr Boyd called on the Government to impose legislation to protect the dolphins.
"If (illegal netting) doesn't stop then dolphins will become extinct," he said.
"That would be a sad indictment on society that we cannot look after a creature as special as this."
join the cult of errol\and you can have a beer\without having to quit smoking
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Edited by - mun chien andalusia on 12/17/2004 04:40:12 |
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mun chien andalusia
= Quote Accumulator =
Italy
2139 Posts |
Posted - 12/17/2004 : 04:41:25
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PS: KoK we should meet for a beer and a car bomb in Iraq. heh
join the cult of errol\and you can have a beer\without having to quit smoking
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floop
= Wannabe Volunteer =
Mexico
15297 Posts |
Posted - 12/17/2004 : 07:12:46
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well that's a buzz kill
ist es möglich für ein quesadilla skrotum zu lecken? beim sprechen der quesadillas von LBF, ja. ja in der tatheheheheheheehehee! |
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kathryn
~ Selkie Bride ~
Belgium
15320 Posts |
Posted - 12/17/2004 : 11:09:28
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I pray that the second story is proven to be an urban (aquatic?)
legend?
My fondest childhood memory is looking out a ship's circular window at sunset and seeing two dolphins leaping out of the Aegean Sea several times.
 I still believe in the excellent joy of the Frank |
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broken part
- FB Fan -
226 Posts |
Posted - 12/17/2004 : 16:28:43
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sick.
not seasick.
just sick.
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Homers_pet_monkey
= Official forum monkey =
United Kingdom
17125 Posts |
Posted - 12/27/2004 : 08:04:40
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Perhaps the fishermen will be eaten by the shark in question. All's well that ends well.
Help me! He keeps making me post!
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vigorstrength
- FB Fan -
87 Posts |
Posted - 12/27/2004 : 09:12:48
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quote:
Originally posted by mun chien andalusia
bottom line: never save humans.
Well, some are worth saving, including I and Infidels
Rock over London, Rock on Chicago. |
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Dolphins save swimmers from shark
