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The Amazing Dolphin
The Intelligence of Dolphins
Are Dolphins intelligent animals?
Are they capable of feeling compassion and other emotions?
Do they display behaviors that give us a glimpse of incredible thought process and intelligence.
You be the judge as you read through the following reports on the dolphin's intelligence, the human rescues and the amazing behavior that they display. Watch the incredible videos displaying their behavior, then judge for yourself. Are dolphins Intelligent?
The Bottlenose Dolphin
(Photo credit: NASA, public domain)
At the Institute for Marine Mammal Studies in Mississippi, Kelly the dolphin and the other dolphins in the pool with Kelly have been trained to pick up any litter that flys into the pool. They are supposed to give it to a trainer when they see them and they will be rewarded with food.
Well Kelly would get a piece of paper and hide it under a rock at the bottom until she saw a trainer. Then give it to the trainer to get food. She then took the thought process a little deeper and decided to just tear off a tiny piece at a time and give it to the trainers and get multiple fish for one piece of trash.
One day a gull flew into their pool and she took that to the trainer and received multiple fish. Then she even went deeper into the thought process and learned to entice the gulls into the water with a piece of fish and then take the gulls to the trainer for her reward of multiple fish.
How intelligent is that?
Read the entire article here.
Believe...
"Believe in porpoises, then."
~ John Lennon (born: 1940-10-09 died: 1980-12-08 at age: 40)
The Common Dolphin
(Photo credit: wikipedia public domain - originated from U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)
They did another experiment to see if a dolphin would recognize "itself" in a mirror.
They put a large mirror in the Dolphins tank and then drew a "mark" on each of the dolphins to see what they would do.
The dolphins would swim up to the mirror and turn their bodies to see the "mark" that had been drawn on them.
It was concluded that they have a real conscious thought process of their "self". How did they know which side to look at. Most animals will react to a mirror as if they see another of their own kind, but dolphins as so intelligent they seem to know they are looking in the mirror at their own reflection.
Read the entire article here.
Leap...
"Pushing through green waters
Symbol of joy
You leap from the depths
To touch the sky
Scattering spray
Like handfuls of jewels..."
- Horace Dobbs
The Bottlenose Dolphin
(Photo credit: wikipedia public domain, author "babynuke")
In August of 2007 a surfer named Todd Endris was attacked by a Great White Shark. The Great White shark had hit him three times, peeling the skin off his back and mauling his right leg to the bone.
That's when a pod of bottlenose dolphins intervened, forming a protective ring around Endris, allowing him to get to shore, where quick first aid provided by a friend saved his life.
The dolphins, which had been cavorting in the surf all along, showed up then. They circled him, keeping the shark at bay, and enabled Endris to get back on his board and catch a wave to the shore.
You can read the entire article from msnbc.com here.
This story was also featured in Readers Digest.
Divine...
"Diviner than the dolphin is nothing
yet created..."
- Oppian, Halieutica
The Spotted Dolphin
(Photo credit: wikipedia public domain, author "NOAA")
October 30th, 2004 three lifeguards went out on a training swim. A group of dolphins swam over to them and started circling them. The group was very confused at the dolphins behavior, they were keeping them in a tight group.
One of the swimmers moved away from the group and looked towards shore and that is when they noticed a large Great White shark about two meters away towards the shore.
They believe the dolphins were protecting the swimmers from the Great White Shark.
Read the entire story at cbcnews.ca.
The Commerson's Dolphin
(Photo credit: wikipedia public domain, author "Kirsten Wahlquist")
Of interest...
"It is of interest to note that while some dolphins are reported to have learned English (up to fifty words used in correct context) [even higher since Sagan died] no human being has been reported to have learned dolphinese."
~ Carl Sagan (born: 1934-11-09 died: 1996-12-20 at age: 62)
The Dusky Dolphin
(Photo credit: wikipedia public domain, author "AllenMcC.")
In a blog written on September 5, 2006, by James Hrynyshyn a science journalist from North Carolina, he relays information about an incident that he had while swimming with the dolphins as a tourist in a place called "Shark Bay". This is a place where the dolphins swim in the wild but have become used to people and allow them to swim with them.
He said the the Park Ranger had warned him about being sure not to touch around the blowhole of any the dolphins because it is a sensitive spot. When his hand accidentally slid close to the blowhole of a dolphin, it smacked him on the shin with its beak and then swam off. He exited the water and moped for about a half and hour before deciding to go in again.
That dolphin seemed to recognize him and left the group of dolphins and swam straight for him fast. She slowed as she neared him then ever so gently rubbed her beak against the very spot she had smacked earlier.
To him she seemed to be saying she was sorry.
You can read his entire blog, which is really interesting at the Island of Doubt, a blog labeled Dolphins, Dolphins, Dophins.
The Amazon River Dolphin
(Photo credit: wikipedia public domain, author Dennis Otten)
Pacific White-Sided Dolphins breaching
(Photo credit: wikipedia public domain, author "Captain Budd Christman, NOAA Corps.")
Thanks for stopping by, I would love to hear your experiences with dolphins, or your conclusions after reading the stories presented here.
What do you think, are dolphins intelligent?
Are dophins compassionate and capable of displaying emotions?
Linda
Or just want to leave a comment?
