I was watching BBC's Planet Earth live (http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00qj06z) the other day and I came across something pretty special. Not just the Meerkat Ernesto who survived being bit in the face by a Cobra http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00sqrbf but this clip of humpback whales defending a Grey whale calf http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00s9h71 .
This is not the only time this has been spotted;
http://www.dnaindia.com/scitech/report_humpback-whales-can-protect-seals-out-of-maternal-instinct_1327958
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/nov/26/whales-save-seal-from-orcas
http://www2.wdcs.org/blog/index.php?/archives/603-Orcas-versus-humpbacks.html
http://digitaljournal.com/article/324348
I am not going to try to explain this behaviour - I am not sure I have the expertise to do that! But it does make me think about other, strange behaviours which animals sometimes have.
Brings me back to a few mini research ideas I have had over the past year - revisiting my snails and looking at fear.
One of the reasons I love science- so many odd things that crop up.
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