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Dolphins 'save' swimmers from shark attack
(Filed: 24/11/2004)
A lifeguard and group of children were saved from a potential shark attack by a pod of circling dolphins which formed a protective shield, the swimmers claim.
Lifesaver Rob Howes, his 15-year-old daughter Niccy, and her friends Karina Cooper and Helen Slade were swimming about 100 metres offshore when they spotted the dolphins - followed by the great white shark.
The dolphins than began to corral thechildren and swam in a circle around the group preventing the shark passing through.
"They started to herd us up, they pushed all four of us together by doing tight circles around us," Mr Howes said.
Howes tried to drift away from the group, but two of the bigger dolphins herded him back just as he spotted a nine-foot long great white shark swimming towards the group.
"I just recoiled. It was only about two metres away from me, the water was crystal clear and it was as clear as the nose on my face," Mr Howes added.
"They had corralled us up to protect us," he said.
The lifesavers spent the next 40 minutes surrounded by the dolphins before they could safely swim back to the shore at Ocean Beach near Whangarei on New Zealand's North Island.
The incident happened on Oct 30, but the lifesavers kept the story to themselves until now, the New Zealand Press Association (NZPA) said.
Environment group Orca Research said dolphins attacked sharks to protect themselves and their young, so their actions in protecting the lifesavers was understandable.
"They could have sensed the danger to the swimmers and taken action to protect them," Orca's Ingrid Visser told NZPA.
www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml...ml&sSheet=/portal/2004/11/24/ixportaltop.html
(Filed: 24/11/2004)
A lifeguard and group of children were saved from a potential shark attack by a pod of circling dolphins which formed a protective shield, the swimmers claim.
Lifesaver Rob Howes, his 15-year-old daughter Niccy, and her friends Karina Cooper and Helen Slade were swimming about 100 metres offshore when they spotted the dolphins - followed by the great white shark.
The dolphins than began to corral thechildren and swam in a circle around the group preventing the shark passing through.
"They started to herd us up, they pushed all four of us together by doing tight circles around us," Mr Howes said.
Howes tried to drift away from the group, but two of the bigger dolphins herded him back just as he spotted a nine-foot long great white shark swimming towards the group.
"I just recoiled. It was only about two metres away from me, the water was crystal clear and it was as clear as the nose on my face," Mr Howes added.
"They had corralled us up to protect us," he said.
The lifesavers spent the next 40 minutes surrounded by the dolphins before they could safely swim back to the shore at Ocean Beach near Whangarei on New Zealand's North Island.
The incident happened on Oct 30, but the lifesavers kept the story to themselves until now, the New Zealand Press Association (NZPA) said.
Environment group Orca Research said dolphins attacked sharks to protect themselves and their young, so their actions in protecting the lifesavers was understandable.
"They could have sensed the danger to the swimmers and taken action to protect them," Orca's Ingrid Visser told NZPA.
www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml...ml&sSheet=/portal/2004/11/24/ixportaltop.html
