2.6 Writing  (Page 2/3)

Suddenly something miraculous happened: he was surrounded on all sides by shiny grey bodies - 12 dolphins that rammed the shark with their snouts and drove it to the depths.

Tales of this kind are not unfamiliar. There are stories of people saved by animals from the sea in Greek mythology, and these were probably dolphins. Young Adam Maguire of Sydney, Australia, has no doubts and feels the fact that he's alive is proof.

Dr Graham Ross, deputy director of the Port Elizabeth Museum and an expert on dolphin behaviour, also has doubts. "Whenever I hear this kind of story I have to ask myself: how objective was this person? If he were drifting around weakly in the water, scared and shocked, would he not feel the dolphins were leading him to the coast? You must bear in mind dolphins are by nature curious. They bump and jostle any unusual object in the water to find out what it is, and they always approach something unusual from the seaside. If it's a person and the dolphins nudge him in the direction of the land, he could easily think they were trying to save him." Tame dolphins in a controlled environment such as a dolphin aquarium have been known to kill sharks, but along the Natal coast bottle-nosed dolphins leave as soon as the water becomes cloudy because they're afraid sharks will eat their young. Many bear the scars of shark attacks and while they might play with small sharks they would flee from large ones.

Experts can say what they like, but people who've actually experienced something like this find such theories difficult to believe.

Ten years ago there was an incident when four fishermen were convinced dolphins saved them from a watery grave in thick mist near Dassen Island off our west coast.

They were in a snoek boat on the open sea when the wind suddenly came up, enveloping them in thick mist and leaving them unable to see anything.

Skipper Koos Stander swung the boat round in the direction he thought Yzerfontein's harbour lay, but lost his bearing. Then one of the fishermen, Mac Macgregor, noticed dolphin fins in the water. Four of them swam alongside the boat and one suddenly struck three blows to the left with his tail. The skipper turned left and was horrified to see a huge rock jutting out of the water to the right. Again and again the dolphins "directed" the boat past rocks and when they began playing around the boat, Koos Stander realised he could drop anchor.

Can anyone still doubt dolphins are sympathetic towards people after hearing stories such as these? Not so fast, say the experts. Dolphins have no reason to be particularly sympathetic towards people. It's sheer curiosity.

The species has the habit of assisting each other ... perhaps they apply the principle to humans.

Adapted from: YOU , 18 January 1990

1. From which country is Adam Maguire? (1)
2. What was Adam doing when the shark attacked him? (1)
3. Explain, in your own words, how Adam was saved. (3)
4. Choose the correct answer:
   1. Greek mythology is:
   2. a true story from Greek history
   3. a traditional fiction story told by Greeks
   4. a place in Greece (1)
5. In your own words, explain why dolphins might "save" someone, according to Dr Ross. (3)
6. Quote two phrases from the passage that suggest that dolphins are actually afraid of sharks. (2)
7. Briefly and in your own words explain what happened to Koos Stander and his men. (3)
8. Why, do you think, does the writer say: "Dolphins have no reason to be particularly sympathetic towards people..."? (2)
9. Who do you agree with, the scientists or those who have experienced the dolphins’ "sympathy"? Explain your answer. (2)
10. Write down a word from the passage which has the same meaning as:
    1. to be poked gently
    2. shy (2)