Dolphin and Whale Ineraction

Many of us here in Hawai'i have witnessed interactions between dolphins and whales.  Often we see dolphins with mother and baby whales, especially around the time of birth.  People speculate that the dolphins may be there to protect the baby whale, or to assist in some way.  I don't know if there is really any way to have definitive insights about these behaviors.  But there appears to be interaction and what could be interpreted as protective behavior.

We do know that dolphins have the ability to visualize, through use of their "sonar" and large brains, images of objects in the water.   Dolphins are known to either sense or "see" when human women are pregnant, and display protective behaviors around them.  

I'm thinking about these things as I watch a YouTube video sent to me by my sister, Laurie Praskin.  This TV clip describes a dolphin in Aotearoa (New Zealand) saving two stranded whales.  If you watch this  you can see that it's not a stretch of the imagination to deduce that there are acts of compassion and cooperation in the cetacean world - between species.  You'll also see the dolphin playing with children at the beach.  Here's the clip.  Thanks, Laurie!