The United States and Russia (the former Soviet Union) are the countries that have made these cetaceans authentic soldiers, but it is the American country that has the longest history with this practice. Incidentally, the most commonly used species is the bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus).

THE REASON

In the 1960s, the United States Navy implemented the Navy’s Marine Mammal Program to

(a) investigate the ability to swim and dive of the cetaceans to apply the knowledge to their naval structures and

b) to study the characteristics of echolocation that allowed them to design efficient methods for detecting objects in the water.

Their sense of echolocation makes dolphins perfect for locating objects underwater, one of the main tasks performed by these cetaceans for the military.

Although the U.S. Navy not only trained dolphins as they also used sea lions (Subfamily Otoriinae) and beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas), dolphins were especially helpful during the Cold War, Vietnam War, Gulf War and recently In the Iraq war. When they realized their ability to learn and their sense of echolocation, the rest is history.

For its part, the USSR made use of the dolphins to perform tasks similar to those of the US Navy dolphins. However, the collapse of its political system resulted in the elimination of the military programs involving dolphins.

Those responsible for theses programs affirm that dolphins are the perfect animals for their needs. They are intelligent, can adapt to a different environment and the continuous contact with humans and therefore they are easy to train.

THE HOMEWORK

Their sense of echolocation makes dolphins perfect for locating objects underwater, one of the main tasks performed by these cetaceans for the military. Their responsibilities are varied, but each dolphin has a particular job, and they do not perform general tasks so while some are trained to detect objects, others learn how to patrol specific areas.

The set of tasks that dolphins perform in the military includes:

– Detection, location, and marking of mines buried in the seabed of shallow water.

– Detection, localization, and recovery of lost objects.

– Watching ports or specific areas.

– Detecting intruders in a limited area.

However, some analysts think that they could put mines on foreign ships and they could be used to attack and perhaps kill foreign divers.

These last two activities are controversial because although the armed forces deny such activities, some think that it is pretty obvious that they use dolphins in such way.

A dolphin named KDog work in the Persian Gulf during the Iraq War /U.S. Navy photo by Photographer’s Mate 1st Class Brien Aho.

THE PROCESS

The ways in which dolphins perform their tasks are fascinating. Their echolocation allows the detection of rare material either from a mine or other object when the “clicks” emitted bounce back in the material and return to them. Tom Lapuzza, a spokesman for the US Marine Mammal Program, says that dolphins can differentiate objects and even distinguish one metal from another.

Dolphins trained for attacking humans is a task not admitted by the Navy. Although some analysts think is pretty evident.

Dolphins can patrol a zone 24 hours a day every day. If a dolphin detects an intruder in protected waters, the cetacean touches a sensor installed on a boat to alert the personnel and they place a device that produces noise or light on the nose of the dolphin, then the dolphin swims towards the trespasser and touches it with his nose showing the location of the intruder. Sometimes they can also mark it for identification.

The mine detection process is similar. When the dolphin locates an explosive, it places around a series of buoys to mark the location. Then, the dolphin or other trained marine mammal lays particular devices to grab the object without any danger.

Attacking humans, as mentioned, is a task not admitted by the Navy. But the suspicions arise from an activity in which dolphins are trained to shoot the strangers using a device that could fire a bullet of carbonic acid installed in an injection needle. This weapon, placed in the head of the animal, is fired as it touches the human diver. Do not forget that these are only speculations from some analysts, so far.

In return for their performance, dolphins get food.

CONSEQUENCES

The use of dolphins for military tasks has had a lot of criticism from the animal protectors and the society in general. The arguments are:

– Dolphins are kept in captivity, away from their habitat and stopping or modifying their natural behaviors as socialization and reproduction.

– They are exposed to abnormal conditions to test their adaptability and resistance and to somewhat extreme circumstances.

– They are subject to greater stress than in the wild. It reduces their life expectancy.

– They are put in danger being in contact with the hazardous materials.

– They can easily be a target and eliminated by the enemy as they would be considered soldiers as well.

Instead, those responsible for military programs ensure that dolphins are kept in optimal health conditions because they have exceptional medical care and balanced nutrition.

However, it is a controversial subject that generates several opinions and organizations like the Whale, and Dolphin Conservation Society (WDCS) oppose firmly.

PRIVATE DOLPHIN

We’ve heard for years that Dolphins are incredibly intelligent creatures. It turns out that they are smart enough to serve in the United States Navy, and have been doing so since 1960 when the Navy decided to study their underwater sonar capabilities to learn how to design better methods for detecting objects in the ocean. The Navy also realized that they could find out how to improve the speed of their boats and submarines by studying how dolphins can swim fast and dive deep.

The research ended up going much further than that. Dolphins have been trained to perform several tasks, including delivering equipment to underwater personnel, locating and retrieving lost objects, and guarding boats and submarines. They have been trained to detect enemy swimmers, and this was the case in both the Vietnam war, as well as the Persian Gulf war. The Dolphins patrol around boats and submarines and use their natural sonar to alert their trainers when enemy swimmers are detected. They could even tag the enemy swimmer with a marker so soldiers could spot and apprehend them.

Dolphins even do underwater surveillance for the Navy, by holding cameras in their mouths or attached to the dorsum and have been used to detect and mark underwater mines as well.

The Navy began the studies of dolphins in 1960, but the Marine Mammal Program began its first military project until 1965. The first project was called Sea Lab II, and a dolphin named Tuffy was trained to dive 200 feet below the surface of the ocean off the coast of La Jolla, California, to deliver mail and tools to personnel.

The Marine Mammal Program has gone through many changes since 1965. From 1965 to 1975, Navy used dolphins in the Vietnam war. During this time, the Navy was steadily building up a team of dolphins, and the program had over 100 dolphins during the 1980’s. With the end of the Cold War, the government reduced the budget for the Marine Mammal Program, however, between 1986 and 1988, six Navy dolphins were sent to the Persian Gulf to protect US flagships from enemy swimmers and mines. They also escorted Kuwaiti oil tankers through dangerous waters. In 1992, the program became declassified.

With the cutbacks and the declassification of the program, the Navy explored the possibility of returning the dolphins to the wild but found that this would be a complicated process that would not be economically feasible. The Navy contacted several marine parks but got few requests for the cetaceans. In 1994, they sent three dolphins to a Sanctuary near Key West, Florida. Two were released into the wild by the owner of the sanctuary, without the proper permits, and this caused quite a bit of controversy. Two weeks later, the Navy recaptured the Dolphins and kept the three cetaceans in its facilities, assuming their care and responsibility for the rest of their natural lives.

The most recent use of Navy dolphins was during the war on terrorism, in Operation Enduring Freedom. Again, the Navy dolphins were used to guard ships against enemy swimmers and locate and mark mines. The Navy also uses whales and sea lions in their programs.

References

Judith Janda Presnall. I Wonder…Can Navy Dolphins Work for the Army?: Educational Version. Learning Island.

John M. Kistler. Animals in the Military: From Hannibal’s Elephants to the Dolphins of the U.S. Navy: From Hannibal’s Elephants to the Dolphins of the U.S. Navy. ABC-CLIO, 2011.

Jay Griffiths. Savage Grace: A Journey in Wildness. Counterpoint, 2015.

When the man appeared on Earth, dolphins had been inhabiting the oceans for thousands of years. Naturally, humans began to interact with other creatures in their environment including dolphins, laying the foundations of a relationship that has endured until today but with different forms of interaction.

In other words, man’s relationship with dolphins goes far beyond observation and occasional contact. It involves close interactions, associations and even scientific studies that try to unravel the secrets of an animal that has been considered one of the most intelligent in the world.

Formerly, relationships with dolphins were in their natural habitat, but now, with technological advances, humans have the power to keep them captive in environments similar to their habitats. However, advanced research always tries to observe animals in the wild as their behavior changes when they are in captivity.

Repeated observations proved that dolphins usually approach pregnant women carefully, as they hear the beating of two hearts.

The relationships between dolphins and humans can be fascinating, and they can occur both in the wild and in captivity. In the wild, some dolphins have been seen rounding up schools of fish to indicate to the fishermen where to place their nets. There are also amazing stories of dolphins coming to the rescue of divers or boaters that have experienced troubles.

In captivity, the continuous interaction between dolphins and humans for training or research or the contact for physical and emotional therapy create strong bonds with the dolphins.

RELATIONSHIP WITH DOLPHINS IN THE WILD

It seems that the human connection with dolphins dates back far into ancient times as there are plenty of markings and old artwork that depict these animals. Some civilizations believed to be a spiritual connection between the gods and humans.

The frescos of dolphins in the palace of the ancient city of Knossos in Crete give us an idea of ​​the familiarity between this species and the Islanders. Many species of dolphins are now believed to capture their food in association with fishers: they may follow dolphins to catch fish of a particular species, or even dolphins show them where to lay their nets to find some marine animals.

Some people claim that dolphins have rescued divers or swimmers who are in trouble by helping them to reach the surface, just as they do with their injured mates. On the Internet, there is a recent video where you can see how a dolphin, trapped in a net, seems to “ask” for help to a Scuba diver to get free.

In 2013, a bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) was stranded on the coast of Australia and was assisted to return to the sea, but now the dolphin has been seen approaching the swimmers and playing with them. People does not show fear to Dolphins as they have a reputation for being friendly, charming and benevolent with humans. However, there are differences between the dolphins that are in captivity and those in the wild, since their encounters with people are occasional.

RELATIONSHIP WITH DOLPHINS IN CAPTIVITY

There are multiple reasons to keep dolphins in captivity, according to humans. These dolphins live day-to-day with people either in water parks, aquariums, reserves or similar places. At water parks, they are trained to perform several acrobatic tricks that use their natural ability for the enjoyment of an audience that goes to see them in a show or to swim with them.

At present, the so-called dolphin-assisted therapy, a type of treatment that uses animals as a therapist for people with some physical or emotional condition, is in vogue, under the argument that the relationship is beneficial for the health improvement of the patient.

Other human interactions with dolphins are frequent during the observation or research of populations in the wild or specimens in captivity. These studies, investigations, and experiments that have provided lots of information about the life of dolphins have been carried out in both scenarios with a varying degree of success. Among them, the studies to test their intelligence, performed using simple but ingenious experiments, have excelled.

In addition to the above, did you know that dolphins are part of the armed forces? Despite being a questionable activity, it is a fact that some armies train animals for some military purposes such as rescuing injured or trapped people.

We should not forget that one of the factors of the popularity of dolphins is due to the numerous times that they have appeared in cinema and television.

WHY DOLPHINS DEMONSTRATE GREATER TOLERANCE TO HUMANS THAN OTHER AQUATIC SPECIES?

Some people believe that dolphins have a particular predilection for humans given the continually positive interactions between them. They have rarely attacked a person. Instead, they have helped them often. The truth is that there is nothing to indicate that dolphins feel a particular empathy for the man since they have a highly developed social behavior and they behave the same way with other animals.

A study from the University of Kyoto (Japan) states that dolphins can see the world and solve problems in a similar way than humans do, so their feelings, so to speak, could also be analogous to that of the human species. The echolocation allows dolphins to know that a human is a living being and to understand when he is in trouble and when he need protection. That is why they usually approach pregnant women carefully since they hear the beating hearts of two persons.

DANGERS OF HUMAN-DOLPHIN INTERACTION

We must consider that although not usually aggressive, dolphins are not domesticated animals, and even if they were, they are as unpredictable as any other wild animal. On the other hand, there are some inherent dangers if we do not respect the distance between them and us, because of dolphins, like men, are sensitive and tend to suffer from stress, illness, and other diseases if the human being abuses its power.

Even though there is usually nothing but harmony when dolphins and humans interact, that isn’t always the outcome. Dolphins can be very aggressive if feel threatened or stressed or when other members of their pod are in danger. One strange incident was the attack in 2010 at SeaWorld by a dolphin, an orca called Tilikum, killing its trainer, Dawn Brancheau.

In 1994, a man in Brazil died when a Bottlenose Dolphin attacked him. Some believe that people continually harassed this dolphin, but nobody knows if it was the case at the time of the incident. Therefore, many experts though do caution people to be aware of what dolphins can do both in the wild and in captivity.

References

Diana Reiss. The Dolphin in the Mirror: Exploring Dolphin Minds and Saving Dolphin Lives. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2011.

Karl Erik Fichtelius, Sverre Sjölander. Smarter Than Man?: Intelligence in Whales, Dolphins, and Humans. Pantheon Books, 1972.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/aug/30/dolphins-like-humans-persecuting-orcas-culture-cull

Dolphins are often considered the second or third most intelligent animals after man. Research has yielded tons of information about its life, its social structure, and its development. Their sense of echolocation has fascinated scientists, who do not hesitate to study it to apply the same mechanism to technologies that facilitate human life and help to fulfill special purposes. But is this all that we can learn from dolphins?

Of course not. These amazing, intelligent mammals have some lessons to teach humans, lessons whose application represents a benefit in the personal and social life of man, now more concerned with the achievement of his work goals and individual recognition.

Close social bonds are better than a lonely life.
Dolphins maintain very close ties with their pod companions. They are highly sociable and do not hesitate to help each other. They are even able to remember many years after they last saw each other and aid to survive those who are sick. When humans imitate this behavior, it improves their mood, reduces stress and increases their chances of survival.

Dolphins are considered the second or third most intelligent animals after man.

Empathy is good.

Dolphins understand when a dolphin or a human being are vulnerable to some danger, and that is why they are believed to have come to the rescue. They do not just leave those who need help. Would not be wonderful if people always did the same? Empathy in humans, besides, allows the understanding of different ideas, tolerance, and respect.

Teamwork is power.

Most of these cetaceans cooperate to find food, care for the young and protect each other. Humans try most of the time exclusively their well-being, but working together with others, is a good way to increase everyone’s success and improve living conditions.

Creativity is important.

Dolphins have found ways to solve some difficulties, as many tests show: they use sponges to protect themselves from rough surfaces, mimic human movements and even communicate through a varied repertoire of sounds. If they can, anyone else can and not just the researchers.

Live without damaging the environment.

This aspect is perhaps the most important since our environment is degrading as people become unaware of their implications on Earth and their responsibilities in it. Dolphins live in an aquatic environment from which they use resources for their means, but do not cause damage. They use what they need.

LEARNING APPLIED TO TECHNOLOGY

The scientific and technological areas are the ones that have benefited most from all the information acquired from dolphins. Current trends focus on the application of echolocation both in technology and in people’s daily life for impaired people and in developing methods for protecting other species. It seems that too much is known, but the truth is that much remains to be discovered and to be learned yet, that is why scientists continue studying them.

EVEN MORE LEARNING FROM DOLPHINS

While dolphin research is still in its infancy, the wealth of information that we may one day glean from these magnificent creatures is unimaginable. One lesson that we can learn from them, however, could be a key to the survival of our civilization. In today’s hectic world, the dolphin community may just offer a few lessons that we should take the time to learn.

There’s a saying in our culture that suggests “it takes a village to raise a child.” In earlier times, our society often reflected this concept. Today, however, morals and values are almost nonexistent, and technology continues to contribute to the breakdown of our families, communities and our society as a whole. Dolphins, however, are cooperative and playful. Their communities or pods persist under dangerous conditions only because of the bonds and support the members offer to one another. In the world of the dolphin, members care for and protect each other. Dolphins are creatures of socialization just as we are.

As human beings, maybe it’s time that we take a look back at how we have evolved and consider instead returning to the way of the dolphin, rather than spreading farther and farther from each other, the answer to our problems is perhaps instead, to come closer. The pod concept that protects dolphins could very well be the ideal that could protect our families and our communities.

There is, in fact, a society that is seriously contemplating the concept of pod living. The Sirius Institute, in Hawaii, has developed a model human society based on pod living. According to their website, Sirius believes that the pod prototype can help us “restore our currently fragmented society,” living in a way that provides an environment where “humans can belong to something bigger than themselves and stand out for who they are and the contributions they make,” instead of what they possess.

The Sirius Pod model allows people to interact within their homes, neighborhoods and in some cases, worlds. The children living in this environment are raised together, very similar to the way dolphins raise their young. Sirius believes that their pod models are “islands of stability” where people can come together to grow and prosper.

While the Sirius model may seem a little vague and sounds very much like the lifestyle we already think we’re living, it would be a positive thing for each and every one of us to stop and consider what the important things are and why we’ve let them fall by the wayside.

If we can learn anything from dolphins, it could just very well be that we need to refocus our attention on how we’re living our lives and why.

Dolphins continue surviving against increasing odds. The intelligence level that these animals display and their ability to interact not only with their peer but to also in harmony with others is a lesson we should all learn.

A quick glance in the media shows a considerable amount of people who claims to have lived an incredible experience, in which a dolphin or a group of dolphins saves them from the danger that the sea involves, even without realizing it. Do you want to know some?

Why saving humans if they are different species? There are some theories.

A FEW STORIES

In 2002, a 36-year-old Australian man named Grant Dickson was fishing in northern Queensland along with other people. Hours later the vessel collapsed in the water, and Dickson found himself alone in the middle of the ocean, holding only to the remainings of the boat. He had some wounds bleeding profusely, and with horror, he discovered a group of sharks swimming around him. However, he watched with amazement how a pod of dolphins began to circle him, scaring away the sharks they might have attacked them by confusing his legs with some prey because of the blood. In the end, Grant Dickson was rescued safe and sound.

In 2004, a group of lifeguards and a young woman from New Zealand were training at sea when a white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) about 3 meters in length suddenly appeared in front of them. But fortunately soon a small pod of dolphins arrived surrounding the group and the woman. They waved their tails and created lots of noise to dissuade the shark from attack them until it decided to go away.

Todd Endris, a 24-year-old surfer, was practicing his favorite sport on August 28, 2007. He could not imagine that moments later a great white shark was going to wallop him and then gave him two severe bites. The terrified young man saw his death close when suddenly about 15 bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) appeared and surrounded him to form a barrier between him and the shark. This protection allowed Todd to get safely to the shore, although with severe wounds from what he later recovered.

Hardy Jones is a wildlife activist. In 2003 he was filming a pod of dolphins when he realized that a shark approached him. Maybe he would have to get attacked if four dolphins had not approached to protect him.

In 2004, five British scuba divers were adrift in the Red Sea with no more company than the animals around. They feared dying right there until a boat rescued them. They believe that dolphins deserve their gratitude since the crew of the rescuing boat said they saw a group of these cetaceans swimming in the direction of divers, probably to draw attention to that place.

WHY DO DOLPHINS RESCUE PEOPLE?

Dolphins show behaviors at times similar to that of humans. In the wild they usually help the sick pod mates, supporting them to reach the surface so they can breathe. Females are loving mothers devoted to their offspring while they feed on breast milk and even long time after weaning.

But, why do dolphins save humans, if they are a different species? Many theories exists that try to explain the reason, but until now none is widely accepted.

Researchers think that sometimes the relationship between humans and dolphins have nothing to do with empathy and rather it is a symbiotic relationship of help-reward. A sample of this is the case of dolphins which help fishers to find fish or other prey since, in the end, these cetaceans receive a portion of the fish obtained. The question here is why did they begin to do this if no one taught them?

The act of defending humans from an animal that can attack them, like sharks, is similar to the behavior of mothers protecting their offspring. Many disabled swimmers or divers claim that were held and transported to the surface with the aid of a dolphin, action used with other cetaceans.

Another explanation may be related to the comparison between body characteristics of dolphins and humans since both are intelligent mammals. Thanks to its sense of echolocation, a dolphin can hear the heartbeat and realize when a person is helpless. It is the moment when they act as they would do it with a mate.

There are only two cetacean attacks on record against people, one from a killer whale that confused a surfboard for a seal and the other by a cranky dolphin mother who had just given birth and its calf was taken away from her.

DOLPHIN HEROES

In Greek and old sea stories, there are dozens of claims of dolphins helping drowning sailors, rescuing people from sharks, and making themselves useful as guides through treacherous waters.

Dolphins and other cetaceans also help injured members of their family groups and newborn babies to the surface by swimming under them and nudging upward, just as some reports describe them doing with humans. Interestingly, there are some real stories of dolphins helping other cetaceans. In 1983 at Tokerau Beach, Northland, New Zealand, a pod of pilot whales ran aground during ebb tide. The Zealanders who lived there came out and did their best to keep the whales alive, sponging their skin and calming them, until the tide came back in. But even then the whales were having trouble orienting themselves.

Dolphins came to the rescue. Somehow, a pod of dolphins who were nearby figured out what was happening. They swam into the shallows, putting themselves at risk, and “herded” the pilot whales out to sea, saving 76 of 80 whales. Five years earlier, a similar incident had occurred at Whangarei harbor. If dolphins are smart enough to help other cetaceans in that manner, why not humans.

OTHER CASES

Several years ago, in the Gulf of Akaba, a British tourist was rescued by three dolphins from sharks. Near the Sinai Peninsula, a ship captain had stopped his boat so several passengers could watch dolphins playing. Three of the passengers decided to swim with them, and one stayed a little longer than the others. To his horror, he was bitten by a shark – and more were coming. Suddenly, three dolphins placed themselves between the tourist and the sharks, smacking the water with their tails and flippers, driving the sharks off until the crew rescued the man.

In 2004, a ten-foot great white shark confronted a group of swimmers off the northern coast of new Zealand. A pod of dolphins “herded” them together, circling them until the great white fled. There are several other examples from the area of Australia about similar incidences.

In another case in the Red Sea, twelve divers lost for thirteen and a half hours were surrounded by dolphins for the entire time, repelling the many sharks that live in the area. When a rescue boat appeared, it seemed that the dolphins were showing them where the divers were, leaping in the air in front of them.

As we can’t talk to dolphins, we can’t understand what their motives are in these situations. It is, however, very possible that they are indeed trying to help and protect fellow mammals in the ocean to safety. If this is true, it means that they are the only animals, besides humans, which show true altruism.

References

http://www.afd.org.au/images-and-videos/extraordinary-stories/mans-real-best-friend-stories-of-dolphins-rescuing-humans

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2004/nov/24/internationalnews

All the information we have about dolphins is thanks to the countless studies, tests, and research that some scientists have performed. In fact, new reports, papers, and conclusions come out every year that mentions the outcome of a given study that expands the understanding of the complex world of dolphins.

These mammals were known in the ancient classical civilizations and in others that had contact with the sea. Today it is assumed that they were attracted to this beautiful, docile and almost friendly animal as much as we do. The seventeenth century brought a new era of individuals interested in the life of plants and animals, and from then on began a period of more thorough research performed under an organized structure and later with the scientific methodology.

The knowledge about dolphins got during centuries was transferred hand to hand among the famous naturalists. Many species of dolphins were discovered and described for the first time during the nineteenth century, such as the Peale’s dolphin (Lagenorhynchus australis), the White-beaked dolphin (Lagenorhynchus albirostris), Hector’s dolphin (Cephalorhynchus hectori) and the Long-beaked common dolphin (Delphinus capensis).

According to estimations, 130 dolphins are in possession of the US Navy.

The scientists in the twentieth century discovered new species, and as they got new information, they restructured some taxonomies. With time, investigators sometimes realized that a subspecies existed not previously considered as such or that newly-known characteristics were inconsistent with the assigned taxonomic family of a species. Further research also made them aware of the intelligence potential of these cetaceans.

In this regard, the US Navy has developed leading research programs since the 1950s. The most obvious example is the Marine Mammal Research Program (1960), whose objective was to learn about the sense of echolocation and to know the morphology of these mammals thoroughly, with the intention to get the knowledge from them and apply it to technologies at the service of humans.

Dolphin research is still relevant for the Navy. To get an idea, in 2007 they spent about $ 14 million on marine mammal research that includes training activities. The number of dolphins in possession of the US Navy is estimated to be 130.

But other governmental and non-governmental organizations have carried out remarkable studies in the field and even collaborated with each other. Many research institutes have different approaches, some move from theory to action, implementing rescue or conservation programs.

OBJECTIVES OF DOLPHIN RESEARCH

Most of the research focus on the following aspects:

– Genetic data of dolphins.
– Behavior.
– Social structure.
– Brain, intelligence, and communication.
– Taxonomy.
– Discovery of new species.
– The impact of anthropogenic activities on the species.
– Preservation and conservation.

Research involves a series of studies that include practical activities, which require a highly coordinated team. It includes reviewing previous studies, analyzing findings, and even rearranging information, which sometimes leads to changes in the taxonomy of some species of dolphins.

MORE RESEARCH

Today we have a lot of information about dolphins since they are one of the most studied animals probably because their intelligence and some similar characteristics to humans make them grab the focus.

Some of the research recently published is:

US researchers led by Dr. Jason Bruck of the University of Chicago stated in 2013 that dolphins have the longest social memory of all non-human beings. They can remember individuals even after 20 years since their last interaction and in the opinion of these scientists, this is the result of the close social relations established between them.

Although it was an issue that was already suspected, researchers from the University of Saint Andrews in Scotland, brought to light in 2013 a study that proves once again that each dolphin differentiates from the others by emitting a characteristic whistle. In human words, a kind of a particular name. According to Dr. Vincent Janik, dolphins responded to their “name” during the tests when the researchers made their whistling sound through underwater speakers.

A study by the Dolphin Research Center in Grass Keys, Florida, released in 2013, reported that dolphins could solve problems in the same way humans do because they can make decisions and guess. They not only react to stimuli.

Dolphins have culture; an aspect believed to be exclusive to man. Observations concluded this when seeing bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) using marine sponges in their snout to protect it by feeding on rough surface areas. Subsequently, the researchers realized that mothers transmitted this behavior to their offspring and they learned in consequence.

The former is a great discovery because transferring knowledge among generations is probably one of the main things that made humans reach the fantastic development that we have now. Therefore, even in a basic way, demonstrating this behavior put dolphins in a whole new level.

Research is ongoing. There is still much to discover despite being activities that involve a lot of time, work, and money. However, understanding their life can generate human awareness and improve conservation efforts.

US NAVY LEADS THE WAY

Although we’ve been fascinated by dolphins for thousands of years, it wasn’t until approximately the 1940’s that research in the field of marine mammals began. While there are hundreds, perhaps thousands of research projects currently being conducted on dolphins, the largest project is the one undertaken by the U.S. Navy.

The U.S. Navy Marine Mammal Research Program started to work with dolphins in the late 1950’s to analyze their hydrodynamic properties and their biosonar. The hope was that dolphins could be trained to locate and retrieve lost objects from the ocean using their capabilities. In the early 1960’s, John Ci. Lilly and several other scientists discovered that dolphins possessed an intelligence level they believed was second only to that of man and that dolphins could learn how to complete tasks quickly and efficiently. It was at this point that the Navy launched a secret research program on dolphins.

Over the next 29 years, the U.S. Navy officially had over 240 dolphins in their research program. The types of dolphins included were Atlantic Bottlenose and Pacific white-beaked dolphins and Beluga, Killer and Pilot whales. For over four years, from 1965 to 1969, the Navy used acoustic signals to give commands to the cetaceans in exchange for fish. The Dolphins soon learned to retrieve mines even more efficiently than Navy scuba divers.

In a “top secret operation,” Six Pacific Bottlenose Dolphins were airlifted by the Navy to the Persian Gulf in 1987 where they were used to detect missiles and mines as well as for underwater surveillance. In 1988, trainers who had been working with these dolphins on the Navy project came forward with claims of abuse and carelessness of the dolphins in the Navy’s programs, but despite these allegations, the Navy Research Program continued. Since that time, the Navy has admitted that the Dolphins were also present in the Vietnam and the Persian Gulf War.

The Navy employs the Marine Mammal Productions Inc. to catch and transport the animals. They are sent to Seaco Inc. in San Diego, California for their initial training and then deployed to bases in Hawaii, San Diego, and Key West. The number of dolphins currently involved in the Navy programs is at least 130.

References

Thomas I. White. In Defense of Dolphins: The New Moral Frontier. John Wiley & Sons, 2009.

John M. Kistler. Animals in the Military: From Hannibal’s Elephants to the Dolphins of the U.S. Navy: From Hannibal’s Elephants to the Dolphins of the U.S. Navy. ABC-CLIO, 2011.

Judith Janda Presnall. In Defense of Dolphins: The New Moral Frontier. Learning Island.

Dolphins inhabit all oceans of the world; therefore it is reasonable that they appear in many stories of civilizations that populated the continents long time ago. The most famous stories about dolphins mention how they rescued people from the dangers of the sea or how they helped fishers with their activities in return for some of the loot.

These stories are not so far from reality. But some others are fantastic tales related to alternate worlds, ancient legends, temperamental deities and curious anecdotes. All this created a mythology with several legends about these magnificent cetaceans.

THE DOLPHINS IN OLD GREECE

The men of ancient Greece had a collection of myths that survived until the present day. For the Greeks the concept of dolphins was positive, considering it a benevolent animal and its appearance in the wake of the boats as a good omen. Many coins from those times show the image of children, men or gods riding a dolphin.

Respect, admiration and affection: what dolphins have aroused in many human civilizations over time.

SOME KNOWN MYTHS:

– Dolphins were the messengers of Poseidon, the god of the seas.

– Once, some pirates captured the god Bacchus or Dionysus who confused him with a Prince, with the intention to ask for ransom. Dionysus raged and turned the ship’s oars into snakes, which frightened the pirates and made them jump into the sea. However, the god had mercy on them and decided to turn them into dolphins so that from then on they would help men.

Probably this myth caused that many Greeks considered that killing a dolphin was a totally outrageous and reprehensible act.

– The gods Aphrodite and Apollo considered dolphins sacred.

– In the Hymn to Apollo, Homer, the poet, relates that the temple of this god was at the base of Mount Parnassus. In need of priests, he became a dolphin and hijacked a merchant ship, making the winds blow in a way that the ship headed for the Greek coast. The crew then stayed in the new temple and served as priests.

– Who is the child, that appears on Greek coins, which rides on the back of a dolphin?” Apparently, it is Taras, the son of Poseidon. According to the myth, his father sent a dolphin to save him from a shipwreck.

As Greeks associated dolphins with Poseidon, this probably explains why in all the depicts of the sea god is always surrounded by dolphins. In one myth about Poseidon, dolphin messengers were sent to bring him a nymph he loved, who he later married. As a reward, he set the dolphin in the sky as a constellation. And he was regularly accompanied by dolphins among other sea creatures.

Alos Greeks associated dolphins with romance. Aphrodite is often depicted with dolphins, riding them or being accompanied by them.

Dolphins, in Greek culture, were often rescuers of humans, probably because they like to bring things to the surface and, well, because there’s some real evidence that they do indeed purposely rescue people in danger.

DOLPHINS IN MYTHOLOGIES OF OTHER CULTURES

The Minoan civilization, an ancient culture which settled on the island of Crete in the Aegean Sea, represented the presence of dolphins in their culture. A sample of this is the fresco with dolphins found in the Palace of Knossos that until today remains almost unchanged.

Certainly, the Greek culture has an extensive repertoire of myths that have been passed down through generations, but dolphins have appeared in the histories of many other cultures. For example, in regions of Brazil and the Solomon Islands some parts of the body of dolphins are used for medicines and totems, and for the Hindus, the Ganges river dolphins (Platanista gangetica) have a relation with the god Ganga.

For the ancient Romans, dolphins were in charge of bringing the souls of the dead to the Islands of the Blessed; They related these animals to mystical processes of life, death, and resurrection. Even the Greeks associated these animals with the Assyrian goddess Atargatis, the deity of fertility and the underwater world.

The culture in the age of Christianity is not exempt from these stories either. It is believed that on one occasion St. Martin the hermit was tempted by a libertine woman, and seeing himself about to sin he threw himself into the sea and went to live on an uninhabited island. Some versions indicate that the saint was taken to the shore on the back of a dolphin and others mention that two dolphins transported him after a woman arrived on the island where he lived.

Respect, adoration, and affection are what dolphins have aroused in the human culture which is far more than just interest. Many of their myths agree with the image that is popularly known of them since they have rarely appeared as evil or dangerous beings in these stories. Certainly, dolphins will continue to be present in future stories.

DOLPHINS IN MODERN TIMES

Dolphins have been viewed as somehow magical for millennia by humans. They’re one of the only animals that appear to play, leaping out of the water and doing tricks, and the bottlenose dolphin even seems to grin widely at everything. It was inevitable that such a remarkable animal also generated fantastic mythology that extends through today.

This image of the dolphin continued in myth and legend as the world transformed around them. Byzantine sailors, Arab sailors, Chinese and European explorers, all had tales of dolphins rescuing sailors or ships in trouble. Dolphins could predict calm seas. And a ship accompanied by dolphins was sure to find safe harbor, fair weather, and following seas. It was terrible luck to harm a dolphin, which is evident in the tales of Pelorus Jack, a dolphin described in the late 19th century who guided ships through a particularly treacherous strait off the coast of Tasmania.

Jack would appear as ships neared the canal, and guide them through the safe parts of the water, leaving the ship once it was safely through. One day, a drunk passenger on one ship shot Jack, and of course, he fled. Weeks later, he reappeared to guide ships again, but would never guide that particular ship again. And ultimately, that ship did wreck on the rocks of the strait.

Today, in movies and literature, we have modern legends about dolphins. Almost any website or book about dolphins will speak of their incredible intelligence.

References

Alan Rauch. Dolphin. Reaktion Books, 2013.

Marie-Claire Anne Beaulieu. The Sea as a Two-way Passage Between Life and Death in Greek Mythology. ProQuest, 2008.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/whales/man/myth.html

http://teachersinstitute.yale.edu/curriculum/units/1983/2/83.02.12.x.html

It is common to watch dolphins jumping through a hoop, spinning in the air, receiving fish from the coaches’ hands and swimming in a huge pond, which seems to be normal. However, the practice of keeping dolphins within an artificial habitat in a dolphinarium is relatively recent, as well as the information about the dangers that are exposed captive dolphins.

BACKGROUND OF DOLPHINS IN CAPTIVITY.

This practice goes back to the nineteenth century when in 1860 a pair of belugas whales (Delphinapterus leucas) were held in the Museum of New York. Although Belugas are not precisely dolphins, the event marked a before and after in the dolphinarium industry. Several years passed until in 1938 the Marine Studios opened a dolphinarium in Florida, with the business model as we know today, this is, the one in which an audience pay to see dolphins doing tricks, and at that time they began with a bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus).

Marine Studios of Florida, later became Marineland and it has the title of being the first dolphinarium in the world. In 2011 the Georgia Aquarium purchased the park.

When this park opened, people realized that dolphins were able to learn tricks and perform stunts if trained, so this created a whole new industry that grew over time, and many other dolphinariums opened to the public. By 1970, there were about 36 dolphinariums in the United Kingdom alone.

Keeping dolphins in captivity is a practice not approved by conservationists and animal rights protectors.

It is important to say that captive dolphins are not only in dolphinariums and water parks to amuse people who pay to see a show. Sometimes dolphins are there for the purpose of being studied or protected if they are in danger of extinction, but in any case, the practice involves certain risks often ignored by most people.

LIFE IN CAPTIVITY

Within an artificial pond, dolphins usually have an infrastructure that resembles their habitat; The water must have an adequate depth depending on the species, and they must receive balanced food in a way similar to what they typically consume in the wild.

Dolphins also spend much of their time and energy learning tricks and coordinating their acrobatics to perform as a central attraction (in the case of dolphinariums) in exchange for food. In the same way, they can be trained to assist people suffering from congenital conditions like in the Dolphin Assisted Therapy (DAT).

OPPOSITE OPINIONS

Keeping dolphins (in fact, not just dolphins) in captivity is a practice not approved by conservationists and animal rights protectors. Captivity seems to be a kind of jail for an animal accustomed to freedom, having a social life interacting with hundreds of similar dolphins and behaving in a way that can not be entirely carried out in a reduced environment, regardless if the pond is quite large.

The dark side of captivity begins since the capture which has been described as “traumatizing” considering that hunters catch many dolphins since they are calves and separate them from their mothers in a stressful and even violent way. Later, they are transported in uncomfortable structures and taken to an unknown place for them. If you consider their close social ties and their memory capacity, the only conclusion is that for those captured dolphins the whole experience is a huge emotional shock.

The annual massacre carried out on Japanese shores is a brutal act, although local authorities have asked respect for this tradition. However, the water tinged with red provokes a significant rejection and indignation in the Western society. Some of the surviving dolphins, the youngest and strongest, are sometimes selected to be taken to water parks and work there as an attraction.

On the other hand, the research conducted while they are in captivity, although it can help to unravel aspects of their behavior and allow a better understanding of their life, it can have adverse effects on their health or include painful processes for them.

In the wild, dolphins travel several kilometers per day, live with their pod companions and other species of cetaceans and animals, emit sounds to communicate and capture their food alive. Living alone or only with a few mates in a dolphinarium limit their sophisticated social life which seems to be an important part of the dolphin life.

What do you think, should humans keep dolphins captive just because they can? Should we keep any animal at all? Is this a form of slavery? Mail us, and we will publish the interesting opinions.

TRAUMATIC PROCESS

Humans, have been capturing wild dolphins and even breeding them for a long time. Today even scientists and researchers keep dolphins in captivity for studying.

Dolphins, with their charmingly playful personality, breathtaking acrobatic ability, and affinity for humans, are among the most sought-after animals by people and their unique abilities are the subjects of research by those seeking to unlock the mysteries of their intelligence and communication.

But there is a dark side to keep dolphins in captivity because the methods used to catch wild dolphins disrupt pod populations and the capture process is hard on any dolphin; detached from the sea and their family, they are pulled into the harsh air where water doesn’t cushion their bodies. They experience trouble breathing, and their skin must be rubbed with lotion and doused with water so that it doesn’t dry out. In these conditions, they are transported for hours, unable to move, just to end in a tank filled with chlorinated water instead of the sea water.

Dolphins, seem reasonably resilient to captivity conditions. They accept humans and adapt well to being around them.

Around five thousand dolphins and other cetaceans have been caught for display, research, or military use over the last three decades. After some rather egregious abuses that led to dolphin deaths, the US and Canadian government now have strict controls over who may capture and keep a dolphin in captivity.

About three-quarters of the dolphins in captivity are females, and most captured dolphins overall are young. Though they seem to do well in captivity, they have a much shorter life expectancy than the dolphins in the wild.

Although the laws covering US and European dolphinariums are quite strict and detailed, this has not always been the case; in many countries, lax regulations have led to filthy, inadequate tanks, sick dolphins, and the death and suffering of many specimens.

References

Thomas I. White. In Defense of Dolphins: The New Moral Frontier. John Wiley & Sons, 2007.

Edward F. Gibbons, Barbara Susan Durrant, Jack Demarest. Conservation of Endangered Species in Captivity: An Interdisciplinary Approach. SUNY Press, 1995.

Pamela S. Turner. The Dolphins of Shark Bay. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2013.

DEFINITION

Dolphin Assisted Therapy (DAT) has been used as a therapeutic approach to increase speech and motor skills in patients with developmental, physical, and emotional conditions, such as Down syndrome and autism.

Have you seen children and adults wearing lifesaving vests and swimming happily with dolphins in a pool? How easily does a dolphin approach these strangers? How nice do these people seem to be spending time?

Well, this image may correspond to a dolphin-assisted therapy program, a different activity than “swimming with dolphins” that only focuses on introducing people to the water with dolphins, teaching them some features of the cetacean and having a fun time.

Dolphin-assisted therapy is a variant of the therapy with animals and consists in the interaction of these animals with people suffering from a physical, congenital or psychological conditions or diseases. According to the WDCS (Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society), this therapy treats children or adults with physical, emotional and mental disabilities in a controlled program that uses dolphins in captivity or sometimes part of a population living in the wild.

People who have taken therapy with dolphins describe the experience as “magical” and say that it improves the quality of their life.

These dolphins are trained to socialize with people, and their company, focused in swimming along with them, touching them and observing their tricks and stunts, has a positive effect on the health of these patients. From this perspective, dolphins are practically therapists.

A program to perform these therapies requires a whole arsenal of elements to be reliable, safe and have the proper results: dolphin trainers, veterinarians, human therapists, adequate infrastructure for patients and dolphins, and of course, a budget to preserve the health of these therapist animals.

People who have taken this kind of therapy with these cetaceans describe the experience as “magical” and say that it improves the quality of their life. Judith Simon Prager, author, and writer of several texts on the subject says there are notable improvements in people with Down syndrome or cerebral palsy and in general, many people believe that swimming with dolphins has extraordinary results in the wellness of patients with any health condition.

BACKGROUND

It was a woman named Betsy Smith who started this practice in the 1970s after observing the interaction between her brother, who was mentally ill, and a dolphin. In 1987, some researchers conducted a case study where dolphins were used to encourage an autistic child to communicate with people. The results convinced Betsy that this kind of therapy with these intelligent and friendly animals was like a new medicine to heal people.

Since then, various centers, dolphinariums, and aquariums have started offering dolphin-assisted therapy for all types of people, including pregnant women who they say will get a benefit for them and their babies. It is currently a very popular and demanded activity throughout the world, offered as a cure and frequent in places with access to the ocean. These places charge a considerable amount of money to allow access to the water and have interaction with the dolphins as well as the backup of human professionals who regulate the activity, which has a variable duration. Generally and according to the condition, a series of several sessions is recommended to get results from the therapy.

Betsy Smith disengaged herself from dolphin therapy in the 1990s, after rethinking the ethical implications of the practice.

EFFICIENCY AND UTILITY

At present, many scientists and researchers have challenged this therapy as they ensure that there is no scientific evidence of long-term improvement. It is likely that positive effects in the mood will occur only for a while.

Conclusive research is still needed to ensure the effectiveness or non-effectiveness of these therapies.

Lori Marino, a neuroscientist at Emory University (USA), is one of the people who questioned the efficiency of the treatment for any disorder and warned that the practice is a risk for dolphins and patients. Like her, other researchers advised about the danger of swimming with a large animal that can hurt the patient even without intention, and that dolphins suffer keeping them in an unnatural environment.

This neuroscientist also says that if people knew how dolphins are captured to take them into captivity, they would think twice about attending some animal therapy. Even psychologists say it has no efficacy for any disease and has risks for dolphins and patients.

In conclusion, definitive studies are still necessary to ensure the effectiveness or non-effectiveness of these therapies. Although attending to one of these centers implies knowing the conditions of the dolphins in the dolphinarium (or similar facilities) and the decision lie with the person.

CONTROVERSY OVER DAT

The theory states that the unconditional love and support that a dolphin offers can benefit children and other patients by helping them to learn and develop trust. Many believe that dolphins have human-like emotions and the compassion they provide increases self-confidence, social skills and academic achievement in children and others who may be lacking these abilities.

Since its’ introduction, dolphin assisted therapy has become a very controversial topic in the medical world. Theories such as the one by Nathanson suggest that this therapy is simply a program that works to modify behavior by rewarding the patient with dolphin swims for performing the desired function. Others, however, think that the sonar of the dolphins can trigger the healing process by increasing T-cells and endorphins.

Common uses for DAT include healing and pain relief as well as increasing attention span, enhancing learning, and improving motor skills and coordination in children and adults.

Although no scientists claim to know exactly how it works and there is no scientific data to back up these claims, dolphin-assisted therapy is increasing in popularity and is available at several aquariums in the United States. At the Clearwater Marine Aquarium in Florida, for example, children can participate in several programs designed to modify their behaviors with rewards such as swimming with and feeding the dolphins. These programs, however, come with a hefty price tag that can range anywhere from $2,000 to $6,000 for 5 or 6 days.

Those critical of DAT, however, argue that just buying a small pet for the child will have the same effect and others argue that holding dolphins in captivity for what they deem “strictly recreational purposes” should be considered cruelty to animals. Scientists also doubt the ability of a dolphin to sense and target a particular tissue with their sonar.

While research into the validity of dolphin assisted therapy continues, should be understood that DAT is not a miracle cure and people should avoid any organization promising such kind of recovery.

References

Donald Altschiller. Animal-assisted Therapy. ABC-CLIO, 2011.

Leah Lemieux. Rekindling the Waters: The Truth about Swimming with Dolphins. Troubador Publishing Ltd, 2009.

http://www.islanddolphincare.org/

http://uk.whales.org/issues/case-against-dolphin-assisted-therapy

Book Review by John Hoopes

I have just finished reading a remarkable novel, The Dolphins of Oceanus by John Hoopes, which has kept me thinking and speculating about dolphins, whales and the ocean, in a way that I have never done, even though I have been a fan and student of dolphin, whale and ocean most of my adult life.

I am old enough to remember John Lilly’s experiments in the 1970s and 80s with dolphins, trying to establish a human-dolphin communication. As I recall, he didn’t ever quite achieve what he’d hoped and eventually gave up the project. But when I read about those experiments in books like The Mind of the Dolphin I felt akin to him in spirit: that is, he was going on the assumption, which I shared, that dolphins had a high order of intelligence, and perhaps, in ways we didn’t yet understand, they could use their large brains in sophisticated ways, comparable to ours, could we but somehow penetrate deeply enough into their psyches to discover that. And I remember a question that kept popping into my mind then: Well, if dolphins really are as intelligent and sophisticated as humans, what do they do with all that great intelligence? How does it manifest in their world? They cannot make material things. They leave no visible, tangible signs of intellectual or artistic creation. What then could it be? I admit, I am not essentially a deeply imaginative person, and I was never able to come up with any speculations that even remotely satisfied me, and I soon gave up speculating.

However, so many years later, when today I’d finished reading this amazing new novel, I knew that someone had finally accomplished, in spades, the imaginative leap that I had not been able to make years ago, and had created a vivid undersea world, full of intelligence and emotion, of spiritual awareness even; and in addition had populated that world with an array of individual dolphins who were all as distinctive and unlike each other as any such collection of humans could be. Quite a feat.

One of our biggest clichés about dolphins and whales, is that they are all gentle, benevolent beings, all apparently living in perfect harmony with each other and with their oceanic environment. The Dolphins of Oceanus also overturns that applecart: there are dolphins and whales we encounter in this novel who have tragic flaws, who can be devious, who intrigue against each other or against the colony for personal gain; there are others noble, spurred by high ideals and capable of great sacrifice for a higher good. In other words, the citizens of this undersea world are as psychologically and spiritually complex and unpredictable as humans. A rich involvement of character results from it.

So this novel has performed a great service for us by making at least a reasonable attempt at answering that important question: Well, assuming their high intelligence, what would their life be like? We as humans need an answer to this. The answer doesn’t have to be perfect, just something that will take us imaginatively inside that hitherto closed door, let us look around inside that amazing room; and then take that information back outside and use it to help reassess our own position on this planet. Do we already have a nearby, great, alien ally?

Something in this novel suggests that the answer to that old, old question—is there anybody like us out there?—could be very near at hand; has been here all the time; we just didn’t know where to look, whom to ask. Not outward and upward and into spectrums of light-year; but right here, down below, into the dark, mysterious depths of our own Oceanus.

You can read free the first several chapters on the author’s website at www.bellamagicbooks.com.

Book Review by Alexie Frize-Williams

dolphin wayIf you ever see a close-up shot of a dolphin, one of the most striking things about it is the huge, permanent grin spread wide across his face. But have you ever stopped to wonder what the creature might have to smile about? What secrets lie behind the intelligent eyes of the animal about which we still know so little? In this beautiful subaquatic tale, Mark Caney provides a glimpse at life through the eyes of the other major civilized race we share the planet with – the dolphins. Aptly blurring fact and the fantastic, the novel is rooted in the author’s intricate research of dolphin behavior, whilst conveying a powerful narrative which masterfully explores some profound questions.

Touches the Sky is a young male dolphin who finds himself caught up in the destructive consequences of man’s impact on his once utopian world. For millennia the dolphins have peaceably thrived in a sophisticated, harmonious existence, following the Way: an ancient belief system, somewhere between a religion and a philosophy. With a complex communication system, playfulness to rival that of humans and unobtrusive intelligence, they have grown perfectly attuned to their world, without the need to improve it, or destroy one another. Now there are alarming developments in the familiar waters, with the confusing din of deafening machinery, brutal over-fishing resulting in food shortages, strange cancers, and many baby dolphins stillborn due to pollution. The darker side of human nature begins to take seed in the receptive dolphin psyche, and a small faction renounces the Way to pursue a savage new lifestyle. Sky must desperately try to avert the disturbing new threat if he is to protect the ancient code and those he loves.

Though the pervasive themes are sombre, the plot is vibrant and fast-paced, snaking in the impressive twists and turns of a beautifully crafted adventure story. The reader is immersed in a stunning underwater world with eloquent scenic descriptions opening the reader’s eyes to a vast and vivid variety of undersea creatures, water temperaments and ocean-scapes. To be enjoyed by readers both young and old alike, the novel may be read simply as an exciting, escapist tale, with three-dimensional characters, touches of humour and beautiful snatches of poetry. But for a deeper reading, the fictive layers can be peeled back to reveal many philosophical, social and moral questions which will leave the reader thinking long after turning the last page. If dolphins are as intelligent as man is gradually learning to realize, what are they using all this intelligence for? (Is there a master agenda?) In evolutionary terms, where did ‘original sin’ arise, and why has it not affected another, so highly developed, species? What causes the fork in the evolutionary pathway which allows or denies a species to be capable of sophisticated communication, emotion, sociability and pleasure?

The most poignant theme of the novel is clearly the shocking, but entirely realistic, devastation to the ocean environment. Human influences on the planet seem to be slowly destroying any hope for posterity, whilst the dolphin Way hinges on the safeguarding of the future through learning from the past. Caney paints a stark picture of human egocentricity and materialism versus the balanced altruism and sustainability of the gentle dolphins. The dolphins eat only what they need to stay alive, to maintain the complex balance of life in the ocean. By training their minds and bodies they can hold their breaths for longer, dive deeper, and explore different levels of consciousness and the subconscious. This existential introspection enables the possibility of approaching a sense of unity with the universal, one of the fundamental tenets of the Way. It also provides an elegant solution to the creatures’ lack of instruments or material objects to record information; a special order of dolphins known as the Starwriters can train their minds to recall vast quantities of information subliminally. Here the author’s creative flair takes wing, and an entire system of societal roles within the dolphin clan is laid out; from Dreamweavers to Calculators, the different gifts of certain zetii (as the dolphins are known) work together to ensure the continuance through each generation, of the creatures’ age old wisdom. One of the most fascinating aspects of this world is that many of the ideas stem from scientific theory, touching upon the realms of astrology, oceanology, biology and medicine.

So if you get the chance to read one novel this year, make it Dolphin Way. Aside from enjoying the vivid brilliance of the underwater world, you might learn something along the way. After all, if we concentrated less on materialistic concerns, the desire to manipulate the environment and cultivate wealth, there would surely be more time for pleasure and to simply enjoy life! Perhaps this is why the dolphins smile – man is caught up in his obstinately self-destructive pursuit of happiness; the dolphins are already there.