Tag Archives | dolphin

Dolphins: Modern Day Midwives?

May 29, 2013

(OCEANS) Adam Barrington and his wife Heather are among an alarmingly increasing number of soon-to-be parents partaking in a bizarre birthing process called dolphin assisted birth. The process involves a water birth with dolphins, and is supposed to bring the expecting mother peace and serenity as well as a feeling of one with nature. However, experts are very skeptical about the unusual procedure and worry that it may result in harm to the fetus. As brilliant as dolphins are at the end of the day, they are still wild animals, and they have been known to kill other small animals for no reason. Therefore, wouldn’t it seem unwise to bring a newborn into such an unpredictable environment? Also, how could this process impact the dolphins involved? Read on to find out more about this strange new trend. — Global Animal

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Navy Dolphin Uncovers Seafloor Secrets

May 25, 2013

(OCEANS) One of the Navy’s specially trained Atlantic bottlenose dolphins recently came across an 130-year-old torpedo on the seafloor. Dolphins are naturally endowed with the most superior sonar known to man and thus, can detect mines and other objects acoustically difficult to find underwater. The museum-worthy torpedo is, in fact, one of the first self-propelled torpedoes used by the U.S. Navy, and only 50 of its kind were ever manufactured. Read on to learn more about the echolocation of dolphins and the antique torpedo. — Global Animal

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India: The Dolphin Showstopper

May 22, 2013

(CAPTIVE DOLPHINS) Hooray for cetaceans! Late last week, India banned the exploitation of dolphins for entertainment purposes and is now the largest of four countries, including Costa Rica, Hungary, and Chile, to prohibit the practice. In many parts of the world, dolphin shows are big business—which begs the question: what compelled India to make this decision? Due to the dolphin’s high level of intelligence, Indian regulators have deemed the cetaceans as “non-human persons” with specific rights and freedoms. Read on for more about this compassionate piece of legislation, which is a major step in the right direction. — Global Animal

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Dolphins, The Ultimate Sleep-Swimmers

April 26, 2013

(OCEANS) The things that keep most of us up at night, may have dolphins sleeping easy. But interestingly enough, our marine mammal friends might not need it. Dolphins have a unique ability to sleep with only half of their brains, keeping the other half alert while they rest. This function allows dolphins to avoid predators, and surface for air, while they remain at rest. Continue reading below in order to find out more about this interesting study. — Global Animal

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PETA Invests To Free SeaWorld Animals From Cement Prisons

April 23, 2013

(SEA WORLD) In another bold attempt to release SeaWorld’s enslaved animals back into the wild, PETA has recently announced it has purchased enough common stock in the cruel company to give the animal activism group rights to attend annual shareholder meetings and submit resolutions. The group’s ultimate goal is to free the long-imprisoned orcas, which have been a subject of controversy for many years. Whales can swim up to a 100 nautical miles in one day, and experts agree that putting them in a pool causes them great trauma—as was the case with Tilikum who killed two SeaWorld trainers after developing aggression due to a lifetime in captivity. Hopefully this move will be allow PETA to actually bring about change, rather than just waste money. Read on to find out why it’s important to release SeaWorld’s orcas from captivity. — Global Animal

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Look Who’s Talking

April 17, 2013

(ANIMAL SCIENCE) It looks like Doctor Dolittle might not have been so special after all—as it turns out, animals really can talk! According to a new study, bottlenose dolphins can actually identify the vocal patterns of other dolphins familiar to them. What’s more, scientists have observed variations in these patterns that imply bottlenose dolphins may in fact be sharing additional information with one another. However, this news really comes as no surprise seeing as though dolphins are the second smartest animal in the world—second only to humans. Regardless, this level of communication between species is uncommon and could mean big news for the future understanding of animal communication. Continue reading to find out what scientists believe this could mean for the animal world. — Global Animal

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Protest Marine Mammal Captivity At uShaka Sea World

April 6, 2013

(ACTIVISM) SOUTH AFRICA — Each year, thousands of dolphins are slaughtered in Taiji on the south coast of Japan. Bottlenose dolphins are then pre-selected by trainers and sold for as much as $200,000 to marine parks all over the world such as Marineland, where the animals remain in captivity and are forced to perform circus acts for their entire lives. Aquariums defend their actions as “rescuing” animals, but in reality, the captive industry is subsidizing hunts which may not have been conducted otherwise. Today and May 25th, Ocean Watch SA is hosting a protest at uShaka Sea World to advocate for the rehabilitation and release of captive animals. Read on to learn more about Ocean Watch SA and sign the petition below telling uSkaka Sea World to retire their wild caught dolphins, Gambit and Frodo, ensure animals not disturbed after hours, stop breeding captive breeding programs, and only practice rehabilitation and release. — Global Animal

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Dolphin Mom Mourns Loss Of Calf (VIDEO)

March 28, 2013

(OCEANS) In a heartbreaking show of grief, a mother dolphin was recorded carrying her dead calf on her dorsal fin. Captain Dave’s Dolphin and Whale Watching Safari in California noticed the dolphin carrying her dead baby on her back off the shores of Dana Point. Read on to find out more about this tender and sad moment, and see the heart-wrenching video for yourself. — Global Animal

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