When I first dreamed up this series, I thought I would be mostly writing about everyday men and women who performed heroic acts under duress, and several of the entries have been about exactly that. But an unexpected source of heroism keeps popping up when I’m looking for ideas—animals.

I’ve written about Yoda the K9, who felt the force and took down a convicted murderer, and Wilson the rescue dog who broke away from his handlers to find four children stranded in the Amazon jungle. Now it’s time to tell the tale of a pod of dolphins who very well may have saved the lives of a humpback whale and her baby.

In this (to me anyway) stunning video, watch as the dolphins lead the lost whales back to their migration route. My advice is to watch the whole thing, but if you want to just jump to the dolphins, they show up at the 40-second mark:

The Australian non-profit group the Dolphin Discovery Centre posted the video on their FaceBook page. They explained how the humpback mum caused "quite a stir":

This beautiful mother humpback whale caused quite a bit of a stir today at Bunbury's Back Beach. The Dolphin Discovery Centre received calls from beachgoers reporting an albino whale or possibly Orca only 200m of the Surf-Life-Saving-Club at Ocean Drive. Simultaneously, Parks and Wildlife Service WA (DBCA) received calls of a whale in distress in the same location.

Luckily, our research and conservation vessel was just hitting the water and responded to investigate. It took some time to find the mystic animal since it moved into 14m deep water further offshore and could only be seen when it came up to breathe. Turns out that it was, in fact, a humpback that had a dark coloured front and a snow-white back body with her new calf.

It was then that the dolphins lept into action and helped the whales find their way. Swimming in front of the mom and baby, and sometimes alongside them, it appeared as if both the whales and the dolphins knew exactly what was happening—the dolphins were saving the whales. At one point, it appears as if mama whale even touches a dolphin, as if thanking it for its help. 

Whales and dolphins usually don't have a ton of interaction, but they're both smart:

Dolphins and whales are extremely intelligent creatures and have been observed displaying socially complex behaviors. Both rely on others for protection and support. Dolphins travel everywhere in pods and have been observed playing together in social situations. A recent study found that they even gather during dinner parties, just like humans.

While the two species are usually friendly enough, there is sometimes competition if they're both interested in the same prey. 

On a personal note, my wife and I were in Mexico some years ago and we were too cheap to pay for the whale sightseeing tour; instead, we paid for a little boat voyage that was just supposed to pleasantly show you the town from the sea. However, a massive humpback decided to breach right in front of our boat, and while the tremendous power was scary, it was also an awesome sight to behold—one that I will never forget. 

While we still have a limited understanding of what goes on in the minds of animals, I hope mama and baby whale are grateful for their new dolphin friends.

Thanks for reading! Here's more Hoge's Heroes:

Hoge's Heroes—Attorney Mom Fights All-Powerful LA Health Department Over Free Speech

Hoge’s Heroes: Hawaiian Man Travels 13 Miles on Bicycle Through Wildfire Hell to Save Grandma

Hoge's Heroes: Pregnant Driver Evacuates 37 Kids off School Bus—just Before It's Engulfed in Flames