In mid‑June, a rare case of mammalian altruism unfolded off the coast of Western Australia. A pod of dolphins escorted a young humpback whale from the confines of a shallow bay into deeper water.
Local conservationists from the Dolphin Discovery Centre spotted the humpback whale in Koombana Bay and were immediately concerned. Every year, the whales migrate roughly 5,000km from Antarctica to their breeding grounds near Australia’s Gold Coast. Humpbacks move along the coastline but do not usually venture into the shallow bay.
They quickly dispatched a boat crew to inspect the animal and sent drones to capture aerial footage.
“Sometimes it happens that an animal gets spooked by a predator, is [doing] poorly or injured, or might have a fishing gear entanglement,” the Dolphin Discovery Centre commented. “These animals then often seek shelter in calmer and more shallow parts to rest up.”
The drone recorded the whale languishing near the bay’s edge. The footage showed no signs of entanglement or wounds. Just a whale that appeared a little bit lost. Then a curious pod of bottlenose dolphins appeared.
The dolphins started by circling the whale. Then came the pivotal moment. They began swimming northward, almost guiding the whale with purpose. The young humpback followed, moving into Geographe Bay’s deeper waters.
Dolphins are naturally sociable and curious, but this was more than a brief interaction. The footage seemed to show a coordinated effort, as if the dolphins recognized that the whale, possibly disoriented or exhausted from its migration, needed help. Inter‑species cooperation in the wild is incredibly rare. While marine animals sometimes travel together, they do not actively guide other species.
Dr. Vanessa Pirotta, a marine wildlife scientist, suggested that the dolphins might have even communicated with the whale.
“Whales use low-frequency sounds, while dolphins make high-frequency sounds, so I would assume these dolphins may have been buzzing around this whale,” she said. “All in all, it looks like a very playful and innocent interaction between these two species.”
