Today, to brighten your day, we bring you the charming story of a young, deformed dolphin who found acceptance with a family of sperm whales.
A dolphin with a spinal deformity that made swimming quickly impossible, was left behind and wandered alone for a while before stumbling upon an open minded family of whales who have accepted the young dolphin as their kin.
This all sounds like the basis for a heartwarming Disney/Pixar movie, but it’s even better because it’s all true! Scientists suspect that the deformed dolphin may have been teased and picked on by other dolphins for being such a slow swimmer. That’s why it ended up by itself, but since dolphins are naturally social creatures, it wanted some friends.
Sperm whales are very slow moving and, therefore, became the perfect companions for the little dolphin! Researchers found that the whale family and the dolphin swam together for more than a week and when the dolphin would brush up against the whale lovingly, the whales would often return the affectionate gesture!
Though cross species interactions like this aren’t uncommon, they still bring a huge smile to our face and warm our hearts.