Art: Olga Shvartsur/Fine Art America
Humpback whale and baby. Recently, a humpback whale appeared to intentionally protect a researcher from a tiger shark.
A scientist who studies whales underwater was astonished and more than a little frightened in September 2017 when a whale kept pushing her toward her boat. After her colleagues pulled her to safety, she saw that in the other direction a dangerous tiger shark was lurking. The researcher believes that the whale was intentionally trying to protect her. Other scientists argue that whales aren’t altruistic.
I say, Who cares? The point is the whale’s action moved the diver away from danger, and she is grateful.
Sarah Gibbens writes at the National Geographic, “For 28 years, Nan Hauser has been researching and diving with whales. The biologist is the president and director of the Center for Cetacean Research and Conservation. … During a trip to look at whales in the Cook Islands in the South Pacific last September, Hauser says she had an encounter unlike any she had experienced before.
“A humpback whale, a marine mammal capable of weighing 40 tons and growing 60 feet long, swam toward Hauser. For ten minutes, it nudged her forward with its closed mouth, tucked her under its pectoral fin, and even maneuvered her out of the water with its back. …
” ‘I was prepared to lose my life,’ she says. ‘I thought he was going to hit me and break my bones.’
“In addition to conducting research, Hauser says she was also in the Cook Islands to work on a nature film, so at the time the whale approached, both she and a fellow diver were armed with cameras. Hauser’s point-of-view footage shows just how persistently the whale nudged her. A second whale can also be seen lurking just behind the first.
“When she finally made it out of the water and up onto her boat — bruised and scratched from the barnacles on the whale — Hauser saw a third tail moving from side-to-side.
” ‘I knew that was a tiger shark,’ she says.
“Now, after viewing the footage and reflecting on the whole harrowing experience, Hauser concludes that the whale who nudged her likely exhibited an extraordinary example of altruism. …
“Hauser’s retelling isn’t the first time scientists have questioned whether humpback whales can show signs of altruism. A 2016 study in the journal Marine Mammal Science looked at 115 instances from the past 62 years in which humpbacks interfered with a pod of hunting orcas.
“Banding together, humpbacks were seen effectively protecting their calves. But there were also examples of humpbacks showing the same behavior to protect other species of whales, seals, and sea lions. …
“Martin Biuw from the Institute of Marine Research in Nowary is skeptical of Hauser’s claim that altruism is at play in the video. Hauser had speculated the whale was male, but Biuw believes it appears to be a female.
” ‘If that is the case, it is possible that she may show protective behavior towards a human (or other animal for that matter) if she has for instance recently lost her calf,’ he says.
“Biuw explained that hormonal changes could have spurred the whale to show protective behavior.” Oh, ha, ha, hormonal changes? Good grief, give me a break.
More at the National Geographic, here.
Suzanne's Mom's Blog 
More and more I have the sense that we humans have worked very hard over the years to demote the intelligence and emotional lives of animals (and in the case of US slavery — of fellow human beings…) so that we can feel more comfortable using them for our own benefit — whether cramming them into factory farms, hunting them, killing them, eating them, using the oil from their bodies to lights the lamps on our city streets, etc. Hurrah for the actions of whales to protect members of other species!
Now, if we can only return the favor and protect and benefit other species as they do us.
Hi, Will, I agree. It’s also about defending intellectual and academic territory. If someone publicly concludes that a species is not capable of altruism, or proclaims that there is no such thing as selfless action and even supposedly altruistic humans can be proven to be acting in their own self interest, then they feel compelled to defend their beliefs against anyone who “threaten” their infallibility. As if there is failure in admitting we don’t know everything. Any way you look at it, there is beauty and grace in the story, and that’s worth appreciating.
As always, I appreciate the way you shine a light on goodness, C.
Thank you. It’s good to be reminded that we don’t know everything.
Wow–what an experience she had! I’m with you–I don’t really care why the whale did it. I’m just amazed at the encounter.
If Disney wanted to make a fanciful animated feature from the whale’s point of view, I’d be all in.