Beluga whale 'saves' diver

[muha]

Beluga whale 'saves' diver - Telegraph

A drowning diver has told how she was saved by a whale that pushed her back to the surface when she suffered crippling cramps Photo: EUROPICS
Yang Yun thought she was going to die when her legs were paralysed by arctic temperatures during a free diving contest without any breathing equipment.

Competitors had to sink to the bottom of an aquarium's 20ft arctic pool and stay there for as long as possible amid the beluga whales at Polar Land in Harbin, north east China.

But when Yun, 26, tried to head to the surface she found her legs were crippled by cramps.

"I began to choke and sank even lower and I thought that was it for me – I was dead. Until I felt this incredible force under me driving me to the surface," she explained.

Mila, the Beluga whale, had spotted her difficulties and using her sensitive dolphin-like nose guided Yun safely to the surface.

"Mila noticed the problem before we did," explained an organiser.

"We suddenly saw the girl being pushed to the top of the pool with her leg in Mila's mouth. She's a sensitive animal who works closely with humans and I think this girl owes her life."

Intelligent Belugas were among the first whales to interact with man and have facial muscles that allow them to smile.

 

[The Chairman]

How cool!

 

[bsee65]

I wonder if whales do this for other whales?

 

[Tigerman]

I have never heard of a drowning whale, but I would imagine that its an instinc designed to protect their pod rather than a random human in a tank..

 

[DiverRider]

I wonder if whales do this for other whales?

I have seen a show that shows a mother whale pushing her young
to the surface for air. This was while the young one was under attack
by a predator. This same incident resulted in other whales coming to
the rescue and driving off the intruder. Talk about being in the right
place at the right time with an underwater cinematographer....geezzz!!!
It was a cool show indeed.

 

[marcaumarc]

Does anyone else think this is maybe not the best idea for a contest?

 

[scubadude79]

WOW! Surely this would have had a negative outcome if the whale was not around. Kudos to the whale, now lets stop killing them!

 

[TheMadDane]

Wow, Awsome!

 

[drdaddy]

Two things came to my mind when I saw this on the news.

1. There should have been a divemaster down there for the safety of the dive contestants.

2. Maybe this "rescue" wasn't staged as a publicity stunt (maybe ... ), but I bet it won't hurt this aquarium's attendance.

 

[DandyDon]

How sweet...!

I wonder if whales do this for other whales?

I have never heard of a drowning whale, but I would imagine that its an instinc designed to protect their pod rather than a random human in a tank..

In the wild, a whale may aid an infant or juvenile in getting to the surface, and the whale may have acted with that instinct, and/or since it is a captive whale may be more into working with humans.

I have seen a show that shows a mother whale pushing her young
to the surface for air. This was while the young one was under attack
by a predator. This same incident resulted in other whales coming to
the rescue and driving off the intruder. Talk about being in the right
place at the right time with an underwater cinematographer....geezzz!!!
It was a cool show indeed.

Yep, like that.

Two things came to my mind when I saw this on the news.

1. There should have been a divemaster down there for the safety of the dive contestants.

Yep

2. Maybe this "rescue" wasn't staged as a publicity stunt (maybe ... ), but I bet it won't hurt this aquarium's attendance.

You need a Cynic badge, but you could be right.