World tallest living man helps rescue dolphins

Bao Xishun, 54, a herdsman from Inner Mongolia, who at 7ft 9in is the world’s tallest living man according to the 2005 Guinness World Records. (see World tallest LIVING man).

Mr Bao has found fame again when he helped rescue the lives of two dolphins at Royal Jidi Ocean World, an aquarium in northeastern China by delving into their stomachs to remove chunks of plastics that they had swallowed. The plastics are brown plastic pads used to prevent people from skidding on the side of the pool.

Veterinary surgeons had failed to remove the plastic. Each time the surgeons tried to remove the plastic from the stomach of the dolphins using surgical instruments, the stomach contracted, making removal impossible. The shape of the dolphins’ stomachs had made it almost impossible to push an instrument deep into their gullets without causing injury, and people with shorter arms had been unable to reach the shards of plastic.

That is when Chen Lujin, manager of the aquarium, enlisted the help of Bao Xishun from Inner Mongolia.

Aquarium staff held down the dolphins and tied their jaws open with towels to prevent them from biting Mr Bao’s arm. Mr Bao was able to grasp and pull out the brown plastic pads. The veterinary staff declared them to be out of danger after Mr Bao’s
non-surgical intervention. One of the veterinarians said: “Some very small plastic pieces are still in the dolphins’ stomachs. However, the dolphins will be able to digest these and are expected to recover soon.”

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