This story shows just how special dolphins are.

At Whangarei, New Zealand, a pod of dolphins circled for 40 minutes around a group of lifeguards swimming in the ocean to protect them from a marauding 3 meter great white shark.

The full story is on the New Zealand Herald. There was also a short BBC News story.

This is not the first time dolphins have prevented a shark attack, but previous cases have often been poorly documented.