[00:00.49]There has long been a superstition among mariners
[00:04.11]that porpoises will save drowning men by pushing them to the surface,
[00:09.56]or protect them from sharks by surrounding them in defensive formation.
[00:15.04]Marine Studio biologists have pointed out that,
[00:18.33]however intelligent they may be,
[00:21.02]it is probably a mistake to credit dolphins with any motive of lifesaving.
[00:26.46]On the occasions when they have pushed to shore an unconscious human being
[00:31.73]they have much more likely done it out of curiosity or for sport,
[00:36.86]as in riding the bow waves of a ship.
[00:40.04]In 1928 some porpoises were photographer working like beavers to push ashore a waterlogged mattress.
[00:48.29]If, as has been reported, they have protected humans from sharks,
[00:53.41]it may have been because curiosity attracted them and because the scent of a possible meal attracted the sharks.
[01:01.08]Porpoises and sharks are natural enemies.
[01:04.66]It is possible that upon such an occasion a battle ensued,
[01:09.64]with the sharks being driven away or killed.
[01:13.33]Whether it be bird, fish or beast, the porpoise is intrigued with anything that is alive.
[01:20.18]They are constantly after the turtles,
[01:23.04]who peacefully submit to all sorts of indignities.
[01:26.98]One young calf especially enjoyed raising a turtle to the surface with his snout
[01:32.75]and then shoving him across the tank like an aquaplane.
[01:36.76]Almost any day a young porpoise may be seen trying to turn a 300-pound sea turtle over by sticking his snout under the edge of his shell and pushing up for dear life.
[01:48.77]This is not easy, and may require two porpoises working together.
[01:53.97]In another game, as the turtle swims across the oceanarium,
[01:58.52]the first porpoise swoops down from above and butts his shell with his belly.
[02:04.25]This knocks the turtle down several feet.
[02:07.47]He no sooner recovers his equilibrium than the next porpoise comes along and hits him another crack.
[02:14.50]Eventually the turtle has been butted all the way down to the floor of the tank.
[02:19.77]He is now satisfied merely to try to stand up,
[02:23.56]but as soon as he does so a porpoise knocks him flat.
[02:27.90]The turtle at last gives up by pulling his feet under his shell and the game is over.
