Dolphins are perhaps the most intelligent aquatic animals on earth. Through their dynamic social structure, complexity of communication tactics, and emotional intelligence, it is no wonder tht dolphins inhabit every ocean in the world, as well as many freshwater rivers, in the same way humans have populated every continent. The cognitive abilities that dolphins possess undoubtedly are remarkable, thus what makes them the smartest aquatic animal on the planet.
Large brain size in mammals has been related to the number and complexity of social relationships. Dolphins are highly social animals consistent with humans, great apes and other creatures displaying high levels of intelligence. They are frequently observed as having highly dynamic social relationships that intertwine fluidity, flexibility, and security. Although membership within a pod can be fluid and flexible in means to accomplish a common goal, other times strong bonds are formed. This can be witnessed through dolphins’ refusal to abandon injured or ill individuals. Within these pods, dolphins maintain security through their immediate social network—consisting of a few close companions and more casual relationships. In these groups the dolphins work together to survive while looking out for the well being of one another. Dolphin calves are among the few species that are taught survival skills as well as culture by their mothers. Mother dolphins teach their young to hunt through playful-looking movements, pointing gestures, and repetition— which often takes up to eight times longer to capture prey. This is done for learning purposes of calves in order to acquire knowledge through observation and repetition. This transfer of knowledge is commonly referred to as the ‘t...
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One of the most common dolphins that are found in southern California is the bottlenose dolphin (Kelly). The bottlenose dolphin is mainly found in coastal waters between 45 degrees north and 45 degrees south, also in Northern Europe waters. It is believed that there are two types of bottlenose dolphin regional wise: oceanic form and coastal form. This species is studied the most by biologists (Jefferson). The coastal population lives in fairly open groups with twenty or less in a pod, some groups are found to contain more in open ocean. It is not uncommon for these species to interact and breed with other species, as would a human interact with other diverse humans. The dolphins feeding behavior is adapted to the availability of resources. They sometimes are known to work together to catch fish from large schools, they also trail behind large fishing boats to catch what falls behind (Leatherwood).
“… building a tank the size of Rhode Island wouldn’t be large enough for a six-ton male killer whale such as Tilikum, an animal capable of swimming 100 miles a day,” states an anonymous whale expert. Whales have been in captivity since 1861 when P.T. Barnum displayed the first live whale that was captured in Canada. However, Barnum had no idea how to care for the mammal and it died after only a week in captivity. (Animal Legal and Historical Center, 2014) Being up close with killer whales could give us some clues about how they interact with each other, including physical behavior, their dialect, and how their pods work together as a family unit. However, what we are finding is that whales who belong in the wild are suffering in captivity. Killer whales have no record of ever harming a human being in the wild. In captivity, there have been many incidents of killer whales harming or even killing their trainers. What would cause them to do this in captivity, but not in the wild? They have been known to resort to aggression toward themselves and each other, in what scientist believe to be a stress induced behavior. (Animal Legal and Historical Center, 2014) Evidence against having these wild animals in captivity is increasing and we need reevaluate the value of capturing and holding killer whales for our educational purposes, enjoyment, and profit.
Francis, David R. “Communities of Killer Whales.” The Christian Science Monitor. National Newspapers Core, 15
Bottlenose dolphins became part of a United States Navy program in 1959 for the purpose of conducting scientific research into their sonar and hydrodynamics in hopes of getting design ideas for submarines, ship hulls and weapons. It was discovered dolphins hear and navigate in the water by using their natural sonar, which happened to be more precise than most fabricated sonar systems. In the mid-sixties, Navy dolphins were used as mail carriers to underwater laboratories in their home of San Diego, California.
Both sharks and dolphins give birth to live young, but sharks don 't care for their young while dolphins do. Sharks breathe using gills and flow-through breathing while dolphins breathe through a blowhole. One of the most noticeable differences between sharks and dolphins is sharks have vertical tail fins where dolphins have horizontal tail flukes. Dolphins are warm blooded and regulate their body temperature, where sharks are cold-blooded and their body temperature vary with their environment. Sharks have multiple rows of teeth which are constantly replaced throughout their life while dolphins have only a single row of teeth. Sharks are solitary hunters while dolphins are very social creatures and forage and hunt
The orca whale is a highly social animal. Orcas form groups that are called pods which are anywhere from two to fifteen members. The young of the group are very protected by the mothers and never leave the pod unless to find a mate. Unfortunately companies like Seaworld are paying people called “Hunters” to trap the young orcas at the age of two.
The capture and control of a breathtaking and majestic creature such as a killer whale is a very tedious subject. Most of the general public would enjoy viewing a show where these giant mammals jump out of the water and perform stunning tricks for viewer satisfaction. But what the public doesn’t see, or realize is that these animals could be severely depressed and could be lacking mandatory stimulation through social bonds and other factors the ocean could give them rather than an oversized bath tub. The ethicalities of keeping such an intelligent animal like an orca in captivity has been under scrutiny for years in the marine biology community. Despite the controlled environments for orcas, these environments cause psychological and social problems to the animals and are worse than nature. There is a distinguishable trait in killer whales in captivity that doesn’t appear in whales in the wild, the dorsal fin of the animal in captivity almost always droops over to one side or the other, and less than one percent of all whales in the wild have been recorded in having this trait. This could be directly related to the depressing life an orca in captivity faces in a closed off world with limited stimulation from the animals incredibly in depth social attributes.
Cetaceans are thought to be some of the most intelligent species on this planet. Popular culture has embraced the idea of cetacean intelligence with shows such as the 1960s hit TV series Flipper, where a dolphin is used to help fight crime. In his comedic science fiction novels, the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, author Douglas Adams suggests that dolphins are the second most intelligent creatures on Earth, behind mice and above humans. Although most scientists would probably argue that humans are the most intelligent species, the behavior and brain size of dolphins and other cetaceans suggests that they too are intelligent. This paper will briefly describe the reason some scientists believe cetaceans are intelligent species and then give examples of scientific studies, which suggest cetacean intelligence. Since bottlenose dolphins and orcas are the most widely studied cetaceans, the survey of field studies will primarily focus on these two species. At the end, this paper provides an argument of why some scientists discredit the high degree of cetacean intelligence.
In Between all matters of life, communication between organisms of like species has been an important part of survival, for so long, and so perfect, that whales have not substantially evolved for about 33 billion years (Uhen, Mark). For example, dolphins hunt using a technique called ‘herding’,as well as many other techniques, which involves members of a pod circling a group of fish and through a series of yips, chirps, whistles, communicate to each other as they in circle their prey into a tightly packed group, allowing one dolphin at a time to swim through the group of fish while the other members of the pod incircle the fish. It is more efficient for groups of a like species to hunt together than one at a time (Bone, 2014). The herd will continue to do this until all have fed, or until the resourc...
When an orca pup is taken away from the ocean and away from its supporting family and sent to a small chlorinated pool with strangers it can cause many potential health hazards for them. The most noticeable health related problem is whale on whale aggression. Hardly any of the killer whales in captivity are related by blood, therefore, most of them are all strangers and will fight or even kill e...
McClung, Robert M. Hunted mammals of the sea. New York: William Morrow& Company, 1978. Print.
Watch out dolphins because you may no longer be the most intelligent animals anymore! Elephants, one of our lands largest creatures, are taking your spot! In the video, Elephants Show Cooperation, the article, Elephants Can Lend a Helping Trunk, and the passage, from Elephants Know When They Need a Helping Trunk in a Cooperative Task, the authors illustrate the intelligence of these pachyderms. They all show an experiment that proves this claim. Elephants “join the elite club of social cooperators: chimpanzees, hyenas, rooks, and humans.” Their cognitive ability even surprises the researchers. They not only make wise decisions, but also work well with their companions. All three sources depict the sagacity of these remarkable creatures.
Shirihai, H. and B. Jarrett (2006). Whales, Dolphins and Other Marine Mammals of the World. Princeton, Princeton University Press. p.185-188.
Did you know in the world there are more than 90 species of whales, dolphins, and porpoises? (WDC) The dolphin is a very important animal to the ocean and there are many different types to discover. In order to learn about dolphins, it is important to discuss where they live, their appearance, and what they eat. Some helpful words to understand are “dorsal fin”, a dorsal fin is the top pointed fin on the dolphins back, “flippers”, a flipper is a flat fin that dolphins use to swim, and “echolocation” is a tool dolphins use to find food by sounds bouncing off of objects (dictionary.com).
There are many reasons why dolphins are very intelligent animals, there are 33 different types of marine dolphins, 4 types of river dolphins, and 6 types of porpoises (dolphins are mammals). Some of the dolphinspeople may think they would be whales, because of their looks, but they are dolphins. Dolphins have a strong behavior; they are very social and travel in groups together. They commonly swim in groups of 2-15 . Severalof different groups of dolphins may temporarily join, for several minutes or hours. In the open waters of theocean, some dolphins will leave their group and change associates and adapt with different dolphins threw outtime (Dolphins communication). In the groups, some members will form a strong bond with one another in thepod. The sizes of the groups tend to increase with the water depth of the ocean and the openness of the habitat, this usually happens when protection with strong with each other and foraging st...