General Chat

Mis-named killer whales, orcas live in stable, family groups called pods each with its own dialect of distinct, pulsed calls. In the entire study period since 1973 no orca has entered or left a pod except by birth or death. Females live to around 100 years and males to around 50. Like the long-lived elephant, each pod is based around a dominant female - a matriarch with her her sons, her daughters and their progeny. Even mature bulls stay all their lives with their mothers and often 'baby-sit' juveniles. The birthrate is low, about one calf every 10 years. When orca pods meet, a strange ritual takes place called 'intermingling. While this leads to mating it must also have other important social functions. The pods form two tight lines and approach head-on. At close range (10 - 12 metres) they hover motionless on the surface. Then the groups submerge and intermingle, moving slowly in tight, milling clumps many touching, rolling and brushing each other. Pairs and trios spy-hop (swim vertically with their eyes above water) but activity is splashless and relaxed and may continue for over three hours. Towards the end momentum increases with noisy leapings that merge into a session of pure play. 30% of the time , during intermingling, the whales are silent - which is most remarkable for such vocal animals. Although they prey on other species of whale, penquins,sea-birds and seals their attitude to humans appears to be benign and researchers and camermen may swim with them, or paddle canoes or kayaks among them, in safety. len

A new species of dolphin has been discovered in the waters of Australia. Named snubfin dolphins they were believed to be members of the rare Irrawaddy species but DNA tests confirm them to be a new species, the first to be discovered in 30 years. len

So how many species of dolphins do scientists know of now?

Ruby I have tried googling this question and all I have come up with is 'Many, including fresh and salt-water varieties' In reference books they are described as small, sharp-toothed whales somewhere between orcas and porpoises but so far I have been unable to find a list. len

How many species are there Quote: There are many different kinds of dolphins, around thirty or forty species of dolphins, including some species we would commonly call whales, such as orcas and pilot whales. Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) are one of the most wide-ranging species. They live along tropical and temperate coasts all around the world. Other species of dolphins live in cold waters, such as the Atlantic white-sided dolphin that can be seen from the Gulf of St.Lawrence to the North Sea, and the hourglass dolphin that lives in the waters of the Antarctic. Len

Hi Len I live near the Indian Ocean and often spot Dolphins just off shore. They are the most social creatures and I never tire of watching them. We have an area near Shark Bay in the North of Western Australia also where they live in the wild but they come into shore every day and the Rangers feed them. The public are allowed to be in the water around them but Rangers Monitor them all the time so they are not hurt. They are wonderful creatures. We go fishing a lot and see Dolphins close by. I always bring my fishing rod in when I see one. I am always afraid I will snag one. Regards Jackie

Hi Jackie I was surprised to see my thread pop up again. Thank you for rescussitating it. As there had been no comment or feedback of late, I thought it had gone to that place in the sky where dead threads go. Despite attacks by humans the whale family, dolphins in particular, seem to recognise us another intelligent species and, oddly, seem quite well disposed towards us. Just as well to bring in your fishing tackle. They can weigh well over a tonne and have phenomenal strength. They could tow a team of horses into the sea. Did you read, recently. of the Lithuanian Aquarium and their painting dolphins? Staff there decided to put dolphin paintings on sale after they had read of paintings by a chimp called Congo going for £14,000 at an auction organised by Bonhams in London. Paintings by elephants have previously been sold by other leading auction houses. The artists - a mother a daughter pair of bottlenose dolphins, called Gabi and Premija, have enjoyed painting for years, holding the brush in their teeth as a trainer stands in the shallows holding palette and canvas. The dolphins, aged 13 and 7, choose the colours and apparently stop painting when they are satisfied with the outcome. Len

Jackie Do you need a self-sufficient lodger? I can do chores. len

Len I have only just seen this thread. I lived in St Ives, Cornwall for a good many years. I was at one time involved with the Sailing Club and I have photographs taken at one of the Regattas - three dolphins playing with the Yachts, racing alongside them, swooping underneath and then leaping up in the air as if to say 'Boo!'. It was an absolute joy to behold. For reasons I wont go into, I find Xmas an extremely difficult time. I woke up early one Xmas morning, feeling suicidal, and took the dog down to Carbis Bay Beach. As we rounded the corner, my breath practically stopped in my throat - there were 20 or 30 porpoises, about 20 yards from the shore, putting on the most spectacular show, for me and the dog! Even the dog was impressed and for once in her life, sat quietly and watched. It went on for about 40 minutes, then they suddenly turned and swam off. It was one of my 'top ten' truly amazing experiences. I cannot put into words how uplifted, and humble, it made me feel. I am convinced they were sent to me!!! We still have the occasional dolphin, or school of porpoises in St Ives Bay. However, it seems that they are not keen on the chips/burgers/beachballs/shoes etc that some IDIOT holidaymakers try to feed them with, and have gone off somewhere a bit more sensible. Olde Crone

One hears many stories of dolphins that turn up and adopt a location. They are loved by the native humans and are given names. Often, after a few years they disappear. It occurs to me that maybe they just move on, maybe to the other side of the world, make new friends, and are given a new name, Anyone hear of a dolphin with a propellor scar and a bullet hole? Could be Donald. len

Monday 22 August 05. A unique sighting of a school of giant fin whales off the west coast of Wales may indicate changes in the ocean currents, a zoologist announced yesterday Six fin whales were spotted in the Irish Sea last week, about 10 miles off the Pembrokeshire coast. The fin whale, which normally lives in deep water, is second in size only to the blue whale. It is 21ft long at birth and can grow to 85ft. It weighs between 30-60 tons. Dr Peter Evans, the director of the Sea Watch Foundation, said 'I have been working on dolphins and whales for 35 years but this sighting was really spectacular. It was the biggest sighting of fin whales in coastal British waters. Normally, only one or two are seen in a year'. 'Unusual things are happening in our waters' said a researcher affiliated to the zoology dept. at Oxford University. 'The increased wildlife may be because of changes in the currents. Whether the changes are ephemeral or whether they are changes relating to global warming, one cannot say. All we know is that we are getting some unusual oceanographic conditions, particularly in the circulation of the North Atlantic current' He said the current was flowing more strongly and extending further into the northern North Sea. As a result, species representative of warmer waters, including leatherback turtles. basking sharks and tuna were coming into unusual areas. www.seawatchfoundation.or.uk. Len

Hi Len, I think you will find that Whales congregate in 'pods' not 'schools' as do Dolphins,So ive always been told. Roxanne x

Thank you, Roxanne. I did know that but I was quoting from a news source, not editing it. len

Its a very interesting thread by the way. Roxanne x

Government measures to protect dolphins by banning 'pair trawling' for sea bass within twelve miles of the coast are more likely to increase deaths because fishermen would move to deeper waters where there are more dolphins, a high Court Judge was told last week. Lawyers for Greepeace said the ban by Ben Bradshaw, the fisheries minister, was taken without regard to expert opinion. len

Killer whales, orcas, pass on 'traditions' to other members of their group, according to studies of feeding behaviour at Marineland in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada. An inventive male devised a new way to catch birds and passed the strategy on to his tank-mates. The 4-year-old orca lures gull by spitting regurgitated fish on to the water's surface. He then waits below for a gull to grab the fish then lunges at it with open jaws. 'They are, in a way, setting a trap' says animal behaviourist Michael Noonan of Canisius College in Buffalo, New York, who made the discovery. 'They catch 3 or 4 gulls this way some days'. But a few months after the enterprising orca started doing it, the whale's younger half-brother was seen doing the same thing. Soon, the brothers' mothers were seen enjoying feathered snacks as were a six-month-old calf and an older male. Noonan presented the research this month at the U.S. Animal Behaviour Society meeting in Utah. Wild Dolphins off the west coast of Australia were the first marine mammals in which cultural learning was observed. They apparently learn from group-mates how to use conical sponges to protect their snouts whilst scavenging in the sea floor. Len

Harbour porpoises and common seals have been seen in the Thames in London and dolphins sighted in the estuary. Some 197 marine mammals were spotted in the river in the survey by the Zoological society of London. Indications from the study are that harbour porpoises remain in the estuary all year round. Dolphins were only reported during the spring and summer. Seals were the most frequent mammals spotted with 46 common seals, 30 grey and 41 unidentified seals. Len

The Amazon rainforest is home to many amazing Animals, including the amazon river dolphin or'Boto' these Dolphins are found in Brazil,ecuador, Peru, venezuela and colombia, as their name suggests they live exclusively in freshwater and inhabit the river systems of the amazon and orinoco. these incredible animals vary in colour from grey to pink8 and so are also known as pink river dolphins) and appear to be able to change colour when active, they also have flexible necks, which is unusual for a dolphin, so that they can weave in and out of branches when forests flood during the high water season. from the W.D.C.S(whales and dolphind conservation society)

Dr Dolphin Expectant mothers have played music to their unborn babies for years in the belief that it gives their babies a good early start. Now scientists say that the squeals and squeaks of dolphins may be more effective at stimulating brain growth in a foetus. Researchers believe that the energy produced by the animals’ ultrasonic emissions could promote the development of a baby’s senses in the womb. The claims have been made by the dean of the Obstetrician College of Peru. She said the high range sounds dolphins emit are registered by the baby. These sounds stimulate the brain and the child’s auditory senses At one Peruvian aquarium, mothers line up beside the pool and a dolphin nuzzles their abdomens making high pitched noises, A study by the University of Wales, Swansea, found that 70% of people who listened to tape recordings of dolphin sounds had significant improvements in their mental abilities Meanwhile, British tour operators are seeing a steady increase in the numbers of expectant mothers wanting to swim with dolphins, with the total number of trips having risen by 40% in the last 5 years. The owner of the company Dolphinswims said “This year almost a fifth of our dolphin swimmers have been pregnant women. When these mothers-to-be enter the water, the dolphins detect and seem to home in on them”, The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, however, does not recommend swimming with dolphins. A spokesman said “There is much evidence that a baby responds to external stimulation but as yet there is no evidence that the act of stimulation leads to either an improvement of childhood activities or harm to the baby”. Len It is well known that young children have the ability to learn several languages simultaneously, without mixing them up. I wonder if we are about to make a break-through and produce a people that can understand dolphinese, even if they are unable to articulate it? Len

Len, Its a fact, these amazing creatures do help in therapy. I love this thread:-)))