General Chat

I saw lots of baby seals to day which would have made a tasty meal for any whale

Whales (and all cetaceans) get emotional. Brain cells linked with intelligence and considered unique to the great apes have now been found in whales. They were touted as the brain cells that set humans and the other great apes apart from all other mammals. Now the specialist cells thought to process our emotions and even enable us to love, spindle neurons, have been found in whales and therefore will be in all related species. Spindle neurons, cells named for their shape occur in the parts of the human brain linked with social organisation, empathy, speech, intuition about the feelings of others and rapid 'gut' reactions. What's more, they have existed in cetaceans for at least twice as long as in humans and early estimates suggest that they could have thre times as many as us, proportionally.(The Anatomical Record Part A, DOI; 10.1002/ar.a.20407) I have said before that scientists can be a bit obtuse at times in refusing to acknowledge what most rational people believe. Who wants to bet that, before long, similar finding will be pronounced about elephants? len

Only humans, chimps and dogs grin. Porpoises smile. len

never trust a species that grins all the time..........obviously up to something..................

Dolphins know each other's names. Dolphins may be closer to humans than previously realised, new resarch has shown. They communicate by whistling out their own names. The evidence suggests that dolphins share the human ability to recognise themselves and other members of the same species as individuals with separate identities. The research on wild bottlenose dolphins will lead to a reassessment of their intelligence and social complexity, raising moral questions on how they should be treated. The Sea Mammal Research Unit at St Andrews University has found bottlenose dolphins to be among the animal world's quickest learners of new sounds. Each animal develops an individually distinctive signature whistle in the first few months of its life , which appears to be used in individual recognition. Bottlenose dolphins are the only animals other than humans to have been shown to transmit identity information independent of the sound of the callers voice. The findings are supported by other authorities. The Wild Dolphin Project at Florida Atlantic University said it was already clear that 77 known cetacean (whale & dolphin) species had rudimentary languages. Dolphin brains are nearly as large and complex, relative to body size, as as those of humans and that implies them being able to communicate. Dolphins may, however, be just the first of many species where individuals are known to have their own names. Other researchers have already found evidence for highly developed lanquage skills in parrots, crows and primates. All species living in large groups have advanced communication skills although not the human vocal apparatus - but they evolve other means. Perhaps humans are not so intelligent as they think themselves to be? len

A porpoise was basking in the Manchester Ship Canal last night, after swimming more than 20 miles inland. Apparently attracted by plentiful fish supplies in the waterway, it is being monitored by marine experts. The British Divers Marine Life Rescue said it was quite unusual for such a creature to swim so far upstream. However, it seemed to be in good health. Len

Fishermen's nets killing dolphins (Reported 14.3.06). More than 7,000 miles of nets fixed to the seabed are being used by fishermen in the South West, where hundreds of dolphins and porpoises are washing up dead according to Government figures. The extent of the gill nets and other entanglement nets was disclosed to MPs by Ben Bradshaw the fisheries minister. Gill nets are used to catch monkfish, turbot and rays and are left on the seabed for several days. Spanish, French and Irish fishermen also use them in the western approaches. The Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society said Britain was failing to implement a law which requires the nets to be fitted with an accoustic device designed to keep whales and dolphins away from them. A study in the 1990s found that about 2000 harbour porpoises and 200 dolphins being killed each year in the area known as the Celtic Sea. len

Dolphins are superb swimmers, but their aquatic ability isn't just down to their streamlined shapes and immense power. A dolphin's skin gradually flakes off, being shed entirely every two hours and it's this flaking that helps them slip smoothly through the water. Scientists at the Kyoto Institute of Technology found that the flakes of skin reduce the number of vortices that form around the dolphin. These would normally increase drag. Drag is also reduced by the skin's undulations. 'The results of the study could help us build better boats, ocean liners and submarines' says the Institute's spokesman. len

Friendly Fire? From New Scientist No.2523 Oct 2005: A long running dispute between environmental campaigners and the US navy over the effects of its sonar systems on whales has spilled into the courts. At issue is the navy's primary submarine-detection system which fires powerful sound impulses in the frequency range 1 to 10 kilohertz, and listens for the echo. The environmentalists say that the sonar pulses injure marine mammals and have led to several whale strandings near sonar training sites. The National Resources Defence Council (NRDC), an environmental action organisation based in New York City, says that in peacetime the navy could take simple precautions to reduce the impact of the sonar on maritime mammals, such as avoiding known marine mammals' habitats, feeding grounds and feeding areas. 'Military sonar needlessly threatens the whole population of whales and other marine animals' says a senior attorney for the NRDC. On 19th October it filed a lawsuit to force the issue. The navy says (with tongue firmly in cheek?-Len) it has long supported marine mammal research,and claims it watches (with sonar?-Len) for marine mammals during exercises and avoids marine sanctuaries or critical habitats 'if operationally feasible'. Len

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

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

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)

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

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

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

Its a very interesting thread by the way. Roxanne x

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

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

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