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

FROM DAY TO NIGHT.

Most dolphins are active during the 24 hours, both day and night although they are mainly active during the morning and afternoon. Everything they do during the day depends on the conditions of their habitat, the season of the year (breeding season, mating, etc.), the time of the day and the physiological conditions of their bodies.

SLEEPING BEHAVIOR.

There was a general uncertainty about the way dolphins sleep, but after several studies, it became evident that they do sleep but not the way humans do. Since they need some degree of consciousness to reach the surface and breathe, they keep one cerebral hemisphere active while the other rests. However, dolphins in captivity have an entirely different resting behavior than wild dolphins as they keep their blowhole off the water and do not respond to light stimuli, apparently having a deeper sleep, perhaps because they are not concerned about predators in their tanks that could threaten them.

One unusual behavior is when they do a sort of “a cough,” throwing their food out.

The case of the Indus river dolphin (Platanista gangetica minor) is particular because of its habitat; the river full of dangerous materials, muddy waters and strong currents, allow this dolphin to rest only 4-60 minutes in short bursts throughout the day.

TRAVEL BEHAVIOR.

Some species move from one place to another in an almost straight direction. They can travel alone or in the company of other individuals, swimming on the surface of the water to save the energy produced by the friction of the water on the submerged body, to orient themselves better or to get rid of the parasites in their skin. If they are resting, they group tightly and surface often to breathe.

FEEDING BEHAVIOR.

The feeding activities can be carried out individually or in groups, cooperating with each other to capture larger prey and having less energy expenditure. One unusual behavior is when they do a sort of “a cough,” throwing their food out.

The dolphins of Shark Bay, Australia, have demonstrated to the astonished researchers that they have traits of a culture development, understanding this as a set of knowledge, ideas, beliefs, customs, and practices learned in a society and transmitted from generation to generation. This conclusion was the result of watching these cetaceans protecting their “snout” from rough surfaces with marine sponges, and later their offspring also did this; a behavior that was not inherited but transmitted from parents to their offspring.

LET’S PLAY!

Dolphins are very curious and enjoy playing with objects and other dolphins. They jump up to 4.9 meters above the surface of the water falling on their backs or with their belly down. They often follow the waves of the stern or the bow of boats.

They jump up to 4.9 meters above the surface of the water.

Most dolphins play chasing one another, using objects and passing them on to others for attention. They commonly make bubbles in the water and take the time to recreate themselves in the ocean. Occasionally, this playful behavior includes other species of dolphins and animals such as Risso dolphins (Grampus griseus), Pantropical spotted dolphins (Stenella attenuata), pilot whales (Globicephala) and humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae).

Other games are only fun for them; they have been seen catching birds and submerging them several meters down, without eating them later.

THIS BEHAVIOR IS NOT NICE …

The habitat of dolphins also has a lot of dangers. If they notice something unpleasant near the pod, they quickly react swimming to the surface, exhaling, striking the water with their tail and grouping very close to each other. Any external element that disturbs dolphins has negative consequences that include stress, wounds, abnormal migrations and even less reproductive success.

Adult males swim in the perimeter of the pod territory to monitor the environment and to communicate others the presence of danger if something happens. Usually, dolphins avoid sharks or flee if they are in the proximity, but there are cases in which these cetaceans have attacked and killed sharks.

Normally, dolphins avoid sharks or flee if they are near, but if necessary, they know how to defend from them.

FRIENDLY DOLPHINS

The sociability of dolphins is evident due to their continuous association with other dolphins of the same species and occasionally interactions even with other species of cetaceans and animals in general.

If there is something for which people recognize dolphins, it is because of its charming “personality.” Docile and friendly to the human presence, they are also close with their companions. They establish strong social ties, assist wounded dolphins, cooperate to feed themselves and survive, and even voluntarily approach divers and bathers. Did you know that there are unconfirmed reports of dolphins helping humans to fish and sometimes they even offer them fish, octopus, and squid as gifts?

References

Ronald Schusterman, J. A. Thomas, F. G. Wood. Dolphin Cognition and Behavior: A Comparative Approach. Psychology Press, 2013.

Dr. Denise L. Herzing. Dolphin Diaries: My 25 Years with Spotted Dolphins in the Bahamas. St. Martin’s Press, 2011.

Karen Pryor, Kenneth S. Norris. Dolphin Societies: Discoveries and Puzzles. University of California Press, 1998.

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/dolphinsmart/pdfs/behavior_factsheet.pdf

Dolphins are considered to be one of the most social animals in the world. They live in groups that are very complex and defined. Studies also show that the members are highly defensive of each other due to the bonds they form within their groups. Dolphins may greet as a way to socialize, and to also set boundaries within their groups.

Through careful observations in their natural environment, it has been documented that the home ranges of various dolphin groups overlap those of others. For example, in Shark Bay Australia the Bottlenose Dolphins have been seen sharing parts of their habitat with other groups of the same species as well as other species of dolphins.

The males of the groups have more dominance and they are more complex when it comes to their role within the group. They don’t defend territories and they don’t patrol but they will defend the members of their group if they need to.

In the Western region of Australia, there is an open society of Bottlenose Dolphins that have been seen expressing a very open society. They don’t have defined boundaries like other animals or humans do. What is also identified is that the relationships they form are very strong and intense.

In a book written by Richard Connor along with another author, they discuss the fact that most mammals that have such complex social interactions and relationships are found to live in semi closed groups with at least one female that is capable of reproducing offspring. Such females will be widely defended by other members of the group.

Connor is also a Biology Professor at UMass Dartmouth and has also stated “an open society is one without such defended boundaries.” His studies include studying the behavior of 120 adult dolphins at Shark Bay, Western Australia. Also on this team were Michael Krutzen, Srdan Randic, and William Sherwin.

What they learned is that the male Bottlenose Dolphins were engaging in pairing up with females or with another male. Sometimes, there would be a third member of the male group and it is believed this allowed them to herd females to a given location to increase the opportunities for mating.

The observations also indicated that the males were often members of a secondary alliance that could have as few as four or as many as fourteen members. One of the groups is known to be active with seven members for at least the past seventeen years.

All of this initial led the research team to think that the dolphins were living a hierarchy and social element similar to that of chimpanzees. This is due to the strong male bonding that takes place. However, the main difference is that chimpanzees are also very defensive of their territory and they patrol it on a regular basis while the dolphins don’t engage in such behaviors.

Dolphins are generally very gentle and they enjoy socializing and showing care towards each other. They are considered to be one of the most peaceful animals in the world, but they can be aggressive when necessary. There are very few noted events though where aggressive behaviors occur between two female dolphins according to the findings of Connor and his team.

While males can be more aggressive towards each other, they don’t seem to engage in such behavior on an ongoing basis. There can be plenty of drama though in the dynamics of the male dolphins of any group though. Watching the complexities of these relationships has been very interesting and some great insight to how dolphins greet and how they live a life different from many other mammals in terms of social interactions.

Source: http://news.discovery.com/animals/dolphins-greet-each-other-120228.html

There is an ongoing debate about why dolphins jump out of the water.

Scientists think about different reasons for this behavior.

Among them, some believe that dolphins jump while traveling to save energy as going through the air consume less energy than going through the water.

Some others believe that jumping is to get a better view of distant things in the water, mainly prey. So, in this way, dolphins jump to locate food or food related activity like seagulls eating or pelicans hunting.

Other explanations suggest that dolphins use jumping to communicate either with a mate or with another pod as they can hear and interpret the splashes.

Some people even think that dolphins jump for cleaning, trying to get rid of parasites while jumping.

Finally, some scientists believe that they are only having good fun, as playing helps to keep senses at their best.

There is not a single scientific explanation about why dolphins jump in the air.

Some of the theories include:

– Dolphins jump in the air to save energy as it consumes less energy traveling through the air than through the water.

– Dolphins jump to locate some other pod or to find food by looking at the water for signs of food like feeding birds or any other indication of food location.

– Dolphins do it to communicate to other dolphins or pods to hunt together or for another purpose.

– Dolphins jump only for fun.

– Dolphins jump to get rid of parasites.

A group of dolphins is called a pod.

A pod usually is formed of around 12 dolphins, and it is the usual social group of dolphins.

However, when a group of pods joins in places with an abundance of food, they can reach up to one thousand individuals forming a large group which is called a superpod.

Superpods are not for a long time, and they dissolve after a while.

Additionally, another way to call a group of dolphins is “school.”