Do Animals Ever Help Each Other?

Survival in the wild is tough, but many species have found that things are easier when they work together, known to scientists as ‘biological altruism’. This most often happens among animals of the same species. For example, if a herd of prey animals are eating and one individual spots danger, they often alert the rest of the group, risking drawing attention to themselves in order to save the others.

However, there are examples of animals aiding one another in a completely different way, and some of the most widely observed animal helpers are dolphins.

Reports of dolphins helping sailors date back to ancient times, and more recently, there have been many occasions where dolphins have come to the rescue when other animals are in trouble. They have been reported guiding stranded whales back out to sea, nudging injured companions towards the surface for air, and even protecting human divers from circling sharks.