Mirror Mirror On The Wall ... Who's The Smartest Mammal Of Them All?

This is one of those stories that reaffirms, to me, at least, that we are far from the smartest creatures on this planet …

Michael Riggio and Ivan Iskenderian, a couple of fishermen, found themselves in an amazing position while on their boat recently, and they have videos and selfies to prove it.

While on their boat in Middle Harbour, north of Sydney, Australia, they watched as whale began nudging the craft, and then circling the boat and swimming beneath it. When the whale came closer, the two men noticed that there were garbage bags and fishing lines caught in the whales mouth and he, or she, I guess, seemed to be asking for help in removing them. Riggio grabbed his camera while Iskenderian leaned overboard to help the whale.

Another man, Ron Kovacs, was fishing in a boat opposite the young men when the whale made his first appearance near the side of his boat, seemingly asking for help, before the whale tried the other fishermen.

“He just popped his head up so you could reach out and remove the garbage. He tried on my boat but we are a bit higher. I made one grab for the bag but missed. He was very inquisitive and more interested in us. You could see that big eye coming out watching us. They are not dumb for sure.” — Ron Kovacs

As the whale made its way over to the Riggio and Iskenderian's boat, Kovacs captured it on his camera, and once Iskenderian had removed the garbage from the whale’s mouth, he, or she, swam away, but not before flapping a fin … in appreciation.

Who’s smarter now? The ones who fill the oceans and the land with garbage, or the great whale that knew who to ask, and how to ask, for help?

Daily Mail