Sea Animals and God

Dolphins 'protect' lifeguards from great white

Four New Zealand lifeguards say a pod of dolphins provided a protective barrier around them when they were threatened by a great white shark.

Rob Howes and three other lifeguards were on a training swim about 100 metres off shore at Ocean Beach on NZ's north-eastern coast when the dolphins raced in and herded the swimmers together.

"They started to herd us up, they pushed all four of us together by doing tight circles around us," Howe said.

When he tried to drift away from the group, two of the bigger dolphins herded him back.

He then saw why. A three-metre great white shark was cruising toward the group about two metres below the surface.

"I just recoiled," Howe said. "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."

Howe says he then realised the dolphins had moved in to protect the swimmers.

He says the dolphins surrounded the group for 40 minutes before they were able to make it back to shore.

Another lifeguard, Matt Fleet, was patrolling nearby in a rescue boat when he saw the dolphins' unusual behaviour.

When he dived out of the boat to join the group, he also saw the great white.

Fleet says he was keen to get out of the water after the sighting but did not panic.

"I just kept looking around to see where it was," he said.

The incident happened about three weeks ago but Howes and Fleet say they kept the story to themselves until they had a chance to catch up and confirm what they had seen.

Environment group Orca Research says dolphins attack 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.

Auckland University marine mammal research scientist Rochelle Constantine agrees dolphins are normally vigilant in the presence of sharks.

Dr Constantine says the altruistic response of the dolphins was normal.

"They like to help the helpless," she said.