196 



WHALES 



Figure I o J. Two female Bottlenose Dolphins, mother and ''aunt\ pushing a still-born calf 

 to the surface. Photograph : R. J. Eastman, Marineland of Florida, Miami. 



way. On the othei' hand, Tomihn states that a Common Dolphin will 

 support her calf until it dies, but ignores it from then on. By and large, 

 however, wounded or dead animals and even floating objects seem to 

 arouse some sort of 'lifting' behaviour in Cetaceans, and the game of our 

 Sperm Whale with a plank (see p. 187) may well be explained in this way, 

 and so may the reported instances of dolphins saving human lives. The 

 famous story of Arion and similar tales told through the ages may, there- 

 fore, have been based on at least a modicum of truth. In any case, there 

 is the absolutely authentic story of a dolphin saving the life of a woman off 

 the coast of Florida in 1949. This woman, while bathing, was carried out 

 to sea by a strong current, and was on the point of drowning, when a 

 Bottlenose Dolphin dived under her and pushed her violently towards 

 the surface and then towards the beach, until she could stand on firm 

 ground. 



However, not all Cetaceans look after their young in the same way. 

 Sperm Whales are reported to rescue injured calves by taking them into 

 their mouths. Such behaviour was observed by both Olaus Magnus and 



