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Common dolphins have been captured on film trying to bring a dying member of their group up to the surface to let him breathe in the East Sea.
The National Fisheries Research and Development Institute announced Wednesday that it achieved the rare capture on June 27 while carrying out a research project in waters between Ulsan and Pohang.
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Dolphins push a dying peer above the water to help her breathe in this rare capture from the East Sea on June 27. /Yonhap
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NFRDI officials were following hundreds of dolphins on a boat when they witnessed one dolphin falling behind. Four or five other dolphins repeatedly pushed the dying dolphin above the water surface to help it breathe. Academics describe such behavior as altruistic, and cite it as evidence of dolphins¡¯ sociability and superiority over other animals.
The researchers who were aboard the investigation boat at the time said the dolphins did not stop pushing the weak dolphin above the water even when their boat approached them as close as 2-3 m. But despite the efforts from its peers, the ailing dolphin died and sank to the bottom of the sea. ¡°The dead dolphin was probably a mother, and since there was no indication of external wounds it seems it died of natural cause,¡± a spokesman said.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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