Dolphins are widely considered to be one of the most intelligent species in the world.
Due to their high emotional intelligence, ability to solve problems and communicate with each other, dolphins have been called the most intelligent animals after humans.
And recently, a pod of dolphins in the wild even helped save a life, reporting to rescuers a swimmer lost at sea.
Volunteers from the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, a charity lifeboat service operating across the UK, recently rescued a man from the sea near Castlegregory, County Kerry, Ireland, but say they received help crucial from very unlikely onlookers.
According to the BBC, the rescue boat crew first spotted a pod of dolphins in the water, which drew their attention to the man struggling in the water.
Short-beaked dolphins surrounded the man, as if to draw the crew’s attention to the man in need of rescuing. Without them, they probably wouldn’t have noticed.
“The victim was conscious and was immediately picked up from the lifeboat and brought to Fenit Harbor to be taken to hospital,” the RNLI said.
The man was reportedly missing for 12 hours, and was exhausted. It’s easy to imagine how badly things could have gone had he not been found just in time.
In recent years, bottlenose dolphins have been sighted off the coast of Ireland. Researchers believe this group mates and breeds in Scotland.
We can’t know for sure what the dolphins were thinking. Maybe it was a coincidence, or maybe the dolphins were staring curiously at the man who ended up in their waters.
But given the exceptionally high intelligence of their species, it’s not a stretch to imagine that they were really trying to alert the crew. Anyway, the man is alive thanks to them.
Dolphins are such amazing animals, and this story shows just how smart they are. They definitely saved the day.
