In a selfless display of ‘man lending nature a helping hand’, beachgoers in the Brazilian town of Arraial do Cabo came to the rescue of a pod of dolphins which had beached themselves, after a tidal surge was suspected to have led them off course.

According to a report in the Scientific American, in only about 50% of recorded cases of whale or dolphin beachings worldwide, could an actual cause for the beaching be determined.

Sickness, polluted water, or even anomolies in the earth’s magnetic field can play a part in causing a pod of dolphins or whales to beach themselves – which makes strandings, like this, a tough case to crack.