She Thought a Humpback Whale Was on the Attack, but the Truth Is Much More Shocking

27. Altruism

On one of the belief spectrum, many members of the scientific community were willing to disregard her evidence completely. On the other end, many attempted to call humpbacks “compassionate” or “empathetic” in nature. Both of these ideas irritated Nan as, in her own words, the whales were merely altruistic. Altruism is well-documented in numerous animal species. True compassion is a human emotion. This, of course, is up for debate.