Brutally attacked by a shark, a swimmer thought he was going to die – until a group of dolphins circled him and saved his life

Sharks are the apex predators of the ocean. Once under their grasp, there’s no escaping the gnarly teeth of the bloodthirsty sharks that run shivers down the spine. But one man had an extraordinary fate when he was attacked by a mako shark (Isurus oxyrinchus) while swimming in the Red Sea in Egypt. Martin Richardson was on the brink of giving up hope after he was bitten five times by a shark. As he lay in a pool of blood amidst the sea, waiting for the shark to prey on him, he looked up at the mountains, hoping for what he thought would be his final moments. Then, came his life-savers– a group of dolphins. 

Richardson opened up about his near-death experience in an episode of Nat Geo’s new show, Saved from a Shark. He believed the shark had “no reason” to stop attacking him until he died, but somehow it did. “I had lost approximately 5 pints [2.8 liters] of blood. You only have 8 to 9 [pints, or 4.5 to 5 L] in your body. I was waiting for a feeding frenzy… I knew it was circling me… I turned away and looked at the mountains. I gave up,” the survivor said in the show. He witnessed a group of dolphins approaching for his rescue, causing the shark to flee. Eventually, a rescue boat pulled him from the water and rushed him to a hospital. “I firmly believe the dolphins saved my life," Richardson, who received 300 stitches on his body, divulged.

Many people believe that dolphins and whales tend to protect humans from sharks when out in the ocean. However, marine biologists and wildlife experts have different opinions about it. Tom Hird, a marine biologist and shark conservationist, noted, "Being saved by another animal is certainly a very romantic notion.” However, there might be little truth in the notion that dolphins and whales are intentionally trying to save humans. Mike Heithaus, a professor in the department of biological sciences at Florida International University, explained that dolphins know when a shark is in the area from the “big cloud of blood.” He suggested “they may not have been trying to save Martin,” but their young ones from the predator. 

While Richardson’s case likely had no altruistic intentions from the dolphins, another case highlighted in the newly-launched show, a part of NatGeo’s SharkFest 2025, remains unexplained. When a group of lifeguards was swimming off the coast of New Zealand, they were unaware of a great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) stalking them until a pod of dolphins encircled them. "I'm used to having dolphins swimming alongside me, but this was totally different," said Rob Howes, one of the lifeguards. Suddenly, a large male dolphin came charging towards Howes but shot past him to approach the shark. The latter fled the scene while the lifeguards returned to safety. "Everything built to a big crescendo. Then everything went calm. The shark disappeared very quickly. It was bizarre,” he added. Experts have not been able to decipher this case, and Heithaus marked the life-saving act of the dolphins as unusual, per Live Science.