Whale Rescues
Usually, we hear about people rescuing whales when they get tangled in fishing nets or stranded on a beach, but does it work the other way around as well? Might whales save people occasionally? This story comes from a couple of years ago.
Nan Hauser, a marine biologist who has studied whales for thirty years, may have been saved from a tiger shark by a humpback whale. There’s no way to know the whale’s intentions, of course, but these whales have been known to save other species, like seals or smaller whales, from predators. This whale may have been treating Hauser like a seal and protecting her.
In an interview on National Public Radio, she addresses the skepticism that other scientists felt about the storyline: “If someone told me this story, I wouldn't believe it. If it hadn't been me, if it hadn't been filmed in three different angles, I wouldn't believe it.”
During the encounter, she feared for her life. Only afterward did she realize that there was a shark nearby. When this all happened, she and a fellow diver were both filming—so there’s extraordinary footage of her encounter with the whale.