Don't think a pig could do this for you.

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (Reuters) - A pod of dolphins circled protectively
round a group of New Zealand swimmers to fend off an attack by a great white
shark, media reported on Tuesday.



Lifesavers Rob Howes, his 15-year-old daughter Niccy, Karina Cooper and
Helen Slade were swimming 300 feet off Ocean Beach near Whangarei on New
Zealand's North Island when the dolphins herded them -- apparently to
protect them from a shark.


"They started to herd us up, they pushed all four of us together by doing
tight circles around us," Howes told the New Zealand Press Association
(NZPA).


Howes tried to drift away from the group, but two of the bigger dolphins
herded him back just as he spotted a nine-foot great white shark swimming
toward the group.


"I just recoiled. It was only about 2 meters away from me, the water was
crystal clear and it was as clear as the nose on my face," Howes said,
referring to a distance of six feet.


"They had corralled us up to protect us," he said.


The lifesavers spent the next 40 minutes surrounded by the dolphins before
they could safely swim back to shore. The incident happened on October 30,
but the lifesavers kept the story to themselves until now.


Environment group Orca Research said dolphins attacked sharks to protect
themselves and their young, so their actions in protecting the lifesavers
was understandable.


"They could have sensed the danger to the swimmers and taken action to
protect them," Orca's Ingrid Visser told NZPA.



John Cairns