Hobbies And Interests
Humans
Dolphins have made human friends throughout history. There is a famous legend of a friendly dolphin leading ships through the dangerous waters of Cape Hatteras at the start of the 1800s. The sailors it safely led through the channel came to know the dolphin as Hatteras Jack. There are also instances of whole pods of dolphins saving humans from sharks or other threats in the ocean, as was the case in 2004 in New Zealand, when a pod of dolphins surrounded swimmers in the water when they noticed a shark nearby. Captive dolphins may also form bonds with their trainers, visitors or any other person who befriends them.
Cats
It is not common for cats to make friends with animals in the sea. They typically do not like water and not many cats are at sea. Nonetheless, there is at least one documented case of a cat and a dolphin being friends. A cat out to sea with its owners was standing near the edge of their boat when a bottlenose dolphin came along and began patting the cat on its head, using its snout. The cat returned the favor by patting the dolphin with its paws and licking the dolphin's snout.
Dogs
Another land mammal that a dolphin has made friends with is a dog. Ben, a golden retriever that lives in Ireland, spends roughly three hours a day playing in the ocean with a dolphin the locals call "Duggie." Ben waits at the pier near his house and jumps into the ocean when Duggie comes over to play with him. They have a game where Duggie comes up behind Ben, dives beneath him, then come up in front of him. Locals think the reason Duggie made this new friend is that her mate died.
Whales
Dolphins are mammals, which may be the reason why they make friends with other mammals and not with fish in the ocean. There is also the fact that dolphins eat fish, so friendship is hierarchically out of the question. Dolphins tend to make friends with land-faring mammals, but there are records of dolphins helping whales out of precarious situations. In March of 2008, two pygmy sperm whales beached themselves on a sandbar off the coast of New Zealand four times. Rescuers freed them repeatedly, only to have the whales go back to the sandbar. Moko, a local wild bottlenose, realized what was happening and helped the whales find their way around the sandbar.