To read the tribute to SFC Marcus Muralles, please click here
Saturday, November 27, 2004
Dolphins and Sharks, oh my!
My mom sent me an article to pass on to T2 the other day. (T2 being a big dolphin fan- T1's not- must have something to do with getting bit by one at Sea World, but I digress...)
According to the article, a pod of dolphins saved some swimmers from a great white shark.
But this particular instance makes this all the more disgusting.
I'm upset that these dolphins, who were part of the pod that saved those swimmers' lives just a couple of weeks ago, were trapped and drowned like that. But, if they hadn't saved those swimmers, would it even have made the news? So, maybe, if some poachers are prosecuted, some good can come from this cruelty.
According to the article, a pod of dolphins saved some swimmers from a great white shark.
The dolphins, "started to herd us up, they pushed all four of us together by doing tight circles around us," Howes told the newspaper. When Howes tried to break away from the protective group, two of the bigger dolphins herded him back, he said.This isn't the first story I've heard like this. There are plenty of stories of dolphins coming to the rescue. They're just cool that way. (OK, they're cool in a lot of ways, but you know what I mean.)
Howes then spotted what he described as a 10-foot great white shark cruising toward them, but the man-eater was apparently repelled by the ring of dolphins and swam away.
But this particular instance makes this all the more disgusting.
POACHERS in New Zealand may have killed two members of a pod of dolphins that recently saved the lives of swimmers from a great white shark attack, lifeguards said yesterday.No, I'm not going to go off on the evils of fishing or anything like that. But there are legal ways to fish (which keep dolphins safe) and illegal ways (which kill them). The fishermen who did this were poachers, and they should be found and arrested.
The mutilated carcasses of the two bottlenose dolphins were found on Wednesday in the Awaroa River, which branches off the upper reaches of Whangarei Harbour on North Island’s east coast.
Staff from New Zealand’s Department of Conservation (DOC) believe the dolphins died about two weeks ago after drowning in fishing nets set out by criminals poaching fish. DOC officer Richard Parrish said their tails had been hacked off, probably to free them from the net.
I'm upset that these dolphins, who were part of the pod that saved those swimmers' lives just a couple of weeks ago, were trapped and drowned like that. But, if they hadn't saved those swimmers, would it even have made the news? So, maybe, if some poachers are prosecuted, some good can come from this cruelty.
