Whale saves drowning diver

Yep ... its always amazing to hear how animals and humans can connect in the most fantastic ways. Sadly though, most humans just don't get it ... animals do, but most of us don't ... superior species? Ya right!

Great post - thank you for spreading a little light!!

Originally posted by double_frick
reply to post by skibtz

 

i have to say, the sun is not so credible, i think.
BUT
if this is true, how MAGICAL!

Several chinese websites reported this story too.
This video have an interview of the diver at the end. She said the whale had bitten her before but this time is saving her.
heilongjiang.dbw.cn...

This is a great story but they are not always so lucky

A whale tried to kill Charles Maxwell and he got it on film...

"southern right whale charging me and then trying to pin me to the seabed"

www.underwatervideo.co.za...

They might be seen as gentle giants, but can be dangerous in some situations.

reply to post by skibtz


whaling? what for? they should just wait for ships to report they've run over one...happens all the time

people who dont like whales, suck, in my opinion.

and arrogant humans who cant be thankful to another species for an act of kindness shown to them, suck too.


humans could learn a lot about so called 'humanity' from animals, if they cared to.


and my sister worked for the RSPCA. believe me, a LOT of people dont give a damn about their animals and abandon or mistreat them. a LOT.

reply to post by pieman
A girlfriend of mine went on a boat to "see whales" and one came up to their boat very close. She said this entity (notice I did not call he/she an it) came up very close to the boat but was really careful not to tip or knock into the boat. She said that this whale was curious, friendly and carefully aware of it's size compared to the inhabitants in the boat.

The orignial post was uplifting and a happy one compared to most of the doom and gloom going on all over our planet right now.

I chose to believe whales are an intellegent and beautiful species of beings that mankind has no right to harm.

www.sciencedaily.com...
Although the biology of the humpback whale is well understood, there have been virtually no studies published on its brain composition, leaving an open question as to how brain structure may relate to the extensive behavioral and social abilities of this mammal. Although brain to body mass ratio, a rough measure of intelligence, is lower for baleen whales such as the humpback compared to toothed whales such as dolphins, the structure and large brain size of baleen whales suggests that they too have a complex and elaborate evolutionary history.

Patrick R. Hof and Estel Van der Gucht of the Department of Neuroscience at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, NY, examined the brain of an adult humpback whale and compared it with the brain of a fin whale (another baleen species) and brains from several toothed whales, including three bottlenose dolphins, an Amazon river dolphin, a sperm whale, two beluga whales, a killer whale and several other whale and dolphin species. They found that the humpback cerebral cortex, the part of the brain where thought processes take place, was similar in complexity to smaller sized cetaceans such as dolphins. The large area of cortex found in these mammals is thought to be related to acoustic capabilities and the current study shows that it is organized into a system of core and belt regions. However, substantial variability was found between the cell structure of the cortex in humpbacks compared to toothed whales. The authors suggest that these differences may indicate differences in brain function and behavior in aquatic species that are not yet understood.

One feature that stood out in the humpback whale brain was the modular organization of certain cells into "islands" in the cerebral cortex that is also seen in the fin whale and other types of mammals. The authors speculate that this structural feature may have evolved in order to promote fast and efficient communication between neurons. The other notable feature was the presence of spindle cells in the humpback cortex in areas comparable to hominids and in other areas of the whale brain as well. Although the function of spindle neurons is not well understood, they are thought to be involved in cognitive processes and are affected by Alzheimer's disease and other debilitating brain disorders such as autism and schizophrenia. Spindle neurons were also found in the same location in toothed whales with the largest brains, which suggests that they may be related to brain size.

Yeah whales!



[edit on 30-7-2009 by ofhumandescent]

reply to post by Psyagra
I could only give you one star. Hope you get another hundred for your post.

Many humans really just don't get it.

There is a book I read called Dominion - by Matthew Scully and that book should be required reading by every single human.

Yeah Psyagra

What a great story.
I have been out deep sea fishing off the Gold Coast here in Australia numerous of times in the right season. and had the Wales come up and breach beside my boat and put on a display and then go across to another boat and do the same to them . and so on.
They are remarkable creatures and want to be noticed .

Originally posted by skeptic_al
reply to post by skibtz

 

It's not a Whale unless it's got a Japanese Harpoon in it !!

It's not a Whale unless It's followed by a Japanese "Research" vessel !!

What are you trying to accomplish by saying this?
Are you just TRYING to be a jerk ?
I'm really curious ??????

I believe the lesson to take from this story and those linked by skibtz is not that animals should be glorified for their compassion, but that animals should be appreciated for their intelligence (awareness). To state the former (any variation of "Animals are so kind, and humans so cruel.") is to open the door for easy criticism by anyone who wishes to excuse maltreatment of animals. They are given the opportunity for a lazy out, a chance to say, "You think animals are so good? Well, read this story about a bear who mauled a hiker! [or any similar man-v.-beast story that furthers that point]".

And yes, there are many instances of arguably well-meaning people injured by animals. That statement alone is not inaccurate, nor that of animals visiting cruelty upon other animals for apparent amusement (something that seems to increase with intelligence--the true double-edged sword). The trouble arises when those facts are used as an excuse to continue the us-versus-them, human superiority, taming the beast mentality, as is so often done. It is quite easy to say (I'm sure I'm not the only one to hear this sort of statement), "Those beasts would kill you if they had the chance. They don't care about you, so why in the world do you care about them?". The implication is, "Be realistic!"; its sibling is, "You're just projecting your emotions--they can't really feel." All of these encourage the idea of human exceptionalism and isolation from everything else that exists.

But likewise a claim of astounding kindness, of awe-inspiring goodness among animals, that too encourages division. It also fuels hostility in those who are already resistant to the idea of animal kinship or universal compassion. It enables them to deny the virtues of animals, because any example of animal viciousness can be lazily advanced to refute the statement.

Instead of romanticising animals with notions of their grand compassion, or discrediting them as dumb, unaware creatures driven only by instinct, I believe the right path is to acknowledge the complexity of their minds and their expression of a wide range of emotions, including traditionally negative ones. Only then can we begin to truly respect and honour them.
We understand very little about animal consciousness--how far it extends, what it encompasses, how it compares to our own. But the little we do know provides ample evidence to argue for compassion and protection of animals. In light of their maltreatment, it is too terrible to contemplate the awareness that may occupy those vast areas of the animal mind that we have not yet known, much less understood.

If a rabbit defined intelligence the way man does, then the most intelligent animal would be a rabbit, followed by the animal most willing to obey the commands of a rabbit. - Robert Brault


I'll repeat my earlier statement: By minimising and neglecting the reality of animal suffering, we encourage the idea of human exceptionalism and isolation from everything else that exists. Think about that for a moment: we encourage isolation of ourselves from everything else that exists. This is the view of reality that we generally accept! And yet we don't seem to realise the results of that sort of worldview. Is it any wonder that viewing humanity as separate from all else, we also encourage separation within humanity? This is what people reference when they say that cruelty to animals is connected to cruelty to humans; that a lack of compassion for small creatures makes way for a broader and broader carelessness toward all life. Speaking to this is a favourite quote of mine, by the philanthropist George Thorndike Angell:

“I am sometimes asked, “Why do you spend so much of your time and money talking about kindness to the animals when there is so much cruelty to men?” I answer, “I am working at the roots.”

I believe this to be a fundamental truth. I believe that we will continue to visit atrocities upon humans for as long as we excuse widespread cruelty to any feeling creatures. While unwarranted and unrestrained viciousness toward animals is allowed, everything will be out of balance and whole morality--whole compassion--cannot possibly find solid ground.

[edit on 30/7/09 by paperplanes]

reply to post by skibtz


It reminds me of a news video where a man jumped in a pond at a zoo and saved a drowning chimpanzee. Lol. The chimpanzees determined that the man was not only sentient, but that he was a hero! They then allowed him to go back to man land..:

www.liveleak.com...

Whales have a vocabulary many times the size of the english language.. What are they talking about? It is a cold murderous race by nature to not recognize things like this.''

DA

OMG! How beautiful - NOT! I'm not surprised by the usual childish anthropomorphic response of the disney-educated american proletariat.

What REALLY happened is this caring, feeling, just-as-human-as-you-or-I beluga watched too many episodes of Discovery channel's shark week. The beluga, being smarter than the typical humanoid, was just hungry and emulating the actions of the Great White Shark!

and where do you hear pro-abortionists banging on about anything, unless you're anti-human or a nazi, are you? who else is pro-abortion? just curious, it's a funny thing to say, i've only ever met a handful of people who were pro-abortion.

reply to post by skibtz


I've read multiple stories of wild dolphins circling around humans out at sea to protect them from sharks.

www.msnbc.msn.com...

www.thatsweird.net...

Originally posted by skibtz

I love it when things like this happen.

I am so sick and tired of hearing the pro-whaling/hunting crowd bang on about how other living entities can be hunted and killed just because they believe that the creatures are not sentient et al.

This whale recognised that the diver was in trouble and pushed them to the surface in order to save her.

Not only are whales sentient entities but they clearly recognise when another being, despite being a different species, is in trouble and then helps to preserve that life.

Amazing stuff.

I do believe in the God given Magnificence of Animals, and of ALL Life in general. I never cease to be fascinated by the world around me, and the many varying encounters I have with animals on a daily basis completely fills my life with joy and amazement.

On the same note though, I have nothing against hunting, especially when it pertains to survival (Including Predator Control). I eat meat, I enjoy a great steak, and I have no illusions about where that meal emanates from. I only ask that the animals whom contribute to my sustenance are respected during their life, and that they are killed as humanely as possible in the end. Whaling has been a part of our survival and sustenance for MANY Millennia, and it still remains so in certain societies now-a-days. Therefore, I do not believe that Whaling is inherently evil, so long as those hunters ONLY take as much as they deem necessary for their sustenance and use. In terms of commercial Whaling, as long as the methods employed are the most Humane methods available, and so long as the pods are known to be keeping a sustainable population, I see no problem with such.

In conclusion, I am amazed by your story, and it truly brings some joy to my heart, but please do not assume that Pro-Whaling individuals need be in conflict with sharing your feelings towards this very same account.

As someone who studies whales and loves them with all her heart...

I don't have an issue with whaling if it occurs in places like the Arctic or small islands where harvesting whale meat for food and utilizing every part of the whale is still common practice.

But if some jerk thinks it's fine to just go ahead and kill whales to sell for money, okay, I think that's a serious problem and I don't want to get into a discussion about it because I will get upset and mean.

They're my favorite organisms. What can I say?

I am new here but I think all animals are worth saving simpily because they are living beings.

Whales & dolphins are highly intelligent, highly spiritual beings w/ powers humans don't understand, such as healing abilities.

Matthew's Message on Cetacean Life
www.luisprada.com...

E-book: "The Call Goes Out from the Cetacean Nation" by Dianne Robbins
www.diannerobbins.com...

See this thread for more info: www.davidicke.com...

[edit on 31-7-2009 by faulconandsnowjob]

reply to post by ravenshadow13


do you know whales get "run over" by ships regularly? I just thought I'd bring this to your attention because you might be able to do something about it.

Great post about these interesting and intelligent creatures.

I love these wonderful animal stories.

First of all,The Sun.

Also...Her legs are paralized(sp?) by the "artic like tempartures? she's in a pool!!!! for cripes sake.

The whale Mila has a name, obviously an aquarium attration, and this was just some playing about, and the whale grabbed her, and brought her to the surface. I'm sure if the diver was in REAL trouble, the handful of other divers, and aquarium workers, would have dove into the 20 foot deep tank and easily rescued her.

This to me is just makeing up news. Like I said, "The Sun". Thats as bad the Enquierer(sp?).

Lastly,Where's Batboy when you need him?