http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2016/07/humpbacks-protect-seals-and-other-animals-killer-whales-why
There has been recent realization that humpback whales sometimes come to the aid of other marine mammals being attacked by orca whales. When researchers started gathering information about this, they found numerous reports going back at least several decades.
It isn't that unusual for animals to defend an individual of their own species under attack a predator. But some of these incidents were humpback whales helping seals, who aren't even whales, and would most likely be too small to assist a humpback whale in a similar way, even if the seal wanted to. Scientists are unsure how to explain why the whales are doing this, since most animal-behavior theories of altruism assume that the animal showing altruism could ultimately benefit from it themselves, if only indirectly- for example, by helping a genetic relative.
There has been recent realization that humpback whales sometimes come to the aid of other marine mammals being attacked by orca whales. When researchers started gathering information about this, they found numerous reports going back at least several decades.
It isn't that unusual for animals to defend an individual of their own species under attack a predator. But some of these incidents were humpback whales helping seals, who aren't even whales, and would most likely be too small to assist a humpback whale in a similar way, even if the seal wanted to. Scientists are unsure how to explain why the whales are doing this, since most animal-behavior theories of altruism assume that the animal showing altruism could ultimately benefit from it themselves, if only indirectly- for example, by helping a genetic relative.
