Dolphins are widely considered one of the most intelligent species in the world.

Due to their high emotional intelligence, problem-solving skills, and ability to communicate with one another, dolphins have been called the second-smartest animals behind humans.

And recently, one pod of dolphins in the wild even helped save a life, alerting rescuers to a swimmer lost at sea.

Volunteers from the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, a charity lifeboat service that operates across the UK, recently saved a man from the sea near Castlegregory in County Kerry, Ireland, but they say they got a crucial assist from some very unlikely bystanders.

the lifeboat crew first spotted a pod of dolphins in the water, which drew their attention to the man struggling in the water.

The bottlenose dolphins were surrounding the man as if to intentionally alert the crew to the man in need of saving. Without them, they would likely never noticed him.

“The casualty was conscious and immediately recovered onto the lifeboat and brought Fenit Harbour to be taken to hospital,” the RNLI said, according to BBC.

The man had reportedly been missing for 12 hours and was exhausted. It’s easy to imagine how things could’ve gone tragically wrong if he hadn’t been found just in time.

Bottlenosed dolphins have been seen off the shores of Ireland in recent years. Researchers believe this pod mates and breeds in Scotland.

We can’t know for sure what the dolphins were thinking. Maybe it was all a coincidence, or perhaps the dolphins were just curiously observing the man who ended up in their waters.

But given their species’ exceptionally high intelligence, it’s not much of a stretch to imagine they were really trying to alert the crew. Either way, the man is alive thanks to them.

Dolphins are such incredible animals, and this story shows just how intelligent they are. They saved the day.

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