Dolphin hooligans are going around killing innocent porpoises

[True Earthling]

Adolescent male gangs violently attacking innocents due to sexual frustration... I guess humans/apes aren't alone in this type of behavior...

It's like the ocean has turned into something out a bad 50s biker movie - gangs of young bottlenose dolphins are roaming the seas, taking out their sexual frustrations by randomly killing any porpoises that get in their way.
Researchers at the California marine conservation organization Okeanis observed three separate acts of violence by dolphins against porpoises. In each instance, a group of dolphins came across a porpoise that was by itself, presumably minding its own porpoise-y business. The dolphins then chased the porpoises at high speeds, and when they caught up to them the dolphins would ram the porpoises until they drowned.

And, as though these dolphin ruffians wanted to really cement their reputations as the bastards of the ocean, they seem to be killing these porpoises just for kicks. The researchers saw one instance where two dolphins kept a porpoise trapped until a bunch of other dolphins could catch up so that they could all feel the thrill of the kill, and then some of the dolphins stayed behind to play with the corpse until they got bored and pushed the dead porpoise towards the researchers' boats. Okeanis member Mark Cotter describes the scene: "It was almost like they said: 'We're done playing with it, here you go'."

The researchers have identified 21 of the 23 attackers as males, and most of the dolphins involved in the attack were relatively young. Cotter suggests that these porpoise killings - scratch that, porpoise murders - are a form of "object-oriented play" that the dolphins do to take out their frustration when they can't get access to females during the breeding season, since older males tend to have more success.

http://io9.com/5808640/dolphin-hooligans-are-going-around-killing-innocent-porpoises

New Scientist article... http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21028154.700-californian-dolphin-gang-caught-killing-porpoises.html

[Ship of Fools]

1. hmmmm

could it BE SOMETHING IN THE WATER????? Fukushima? BP? maybe i'm grasping at straws here, but it seems to me that some of the earth's critters have been getting more aggressive over the past handful of years, when i string some reports/stories together. i know NOTHING about this stuff, scientifically speaking, but my gut sure tells me that a being can get rather agitated when their environment starts making them feel sick. no-brainer to me.

[Codeine]

3. Sigh. nt

[Ship of Fools]

5. ? don't know what you mean by that, but i'll bet

people like me will be proven right, in time.

[TheWraith]

43. No, you won't.

In fact, the idea is ludicrously unsound scientifically. Not to mention, the idea of attributing any and all behavior in the wild to whatever the crisis ju jour is, is like a modern version of "my crops withered because a witch did it."

The fact of the matter is, dolphins are well known for being highly aggressive animals, both physically and sexually. They can and do hunt down sharks and kill them, and their sex drives--along with the resultant tension--are extremely high. They been known to try to mate with anything around them, including humans.

[Cetacea]

64. Of course they attack sharks.

If they do not defend themselves from sharks, they get eaten. The shark is their only natural enemy. Man is trying hard to become another.
They are not well-known for being highly aggressive "animals". They certainly CAN be.
And given that their brains are closer to ours than the apes, why wouldn't we be making comparisons with human behavior? As a matter of fact, I would say that they are more "human" than the apes. The apes, for one, do not have the hardware for a real language. Dolphins do.
And they are highly sexual, eh? Again, so? They even have sex for fun. And some of them are gay. And some like humping humans.
Some like blowing bubbles. All of them help a pod member when in trouble-and do the same for humans. Why do they sometimes go off and attack other cetaceans? Who knows? The more interesting fact is that they absolutely do not kill humans. And a more interesting question, especially in light of our own behavior is why on earth not?

Unless of course you just think of them as bright fish.

[True Earthling]

4. Some of the attacks have been in the North Atlantic

around the U.K.

Dead porpoises (and other cetaceans) turn up regularly on beaches around Britain. According to a Defra report last year (pdf), the cause of death of 15 out of 56 porpoise bodies found - the majority - was "physical trauma (bottlenose dolphin attack)". The photo above shows the rake marks on a harbour porpoise caused by a bottlenose dolphin. The killings were first reported from the north-east coast of Scotland, then off the coast of Wales, and this week the body of a Risso's dolphin was found further south still, in Cornwall. The Risso's dolphin (see photo below) was said to have been killed over food shortages and dolphins were described as being so hungry they are turning on each other.

Autopsies show some of the dead animals (13 out of 56) have died of starvation. But not all, and the bottlenose killers are not eating the porpoises they kill. In the case of the Risso's dolphin, it is not even a competitor for the same prey (Risso's feed on squid). So why are they killing other cetaceans?

"We can't state confidently that the killings are tied to declining fish stocks," says dolphin expert Nick Tregenza, who advises the Marine Strandings Network in Cornwall. His guess? "They could be doing it for fun."

http://www.newscientist.com/blogs/shortsharpscience/2008/09/dolphin-serial-killers.html

[Ship of Fools]

9. sorry, folks, but my random thoughts on this:

fish leaping onto boats -- agitation. try swimming in a small lake here in Kansas in the middle of July. last time i did, about 4 years ago, the water temp was so warm as to be very uncomfortable against my skin. it was ickier than a very warm bath. this is no exaggeration. i had to get out right away because it made me feel nauseous. needless to say, i then noticed that no one else was swimming there -- on a Sat afternoon, at a popular beach ...

in northern lats, rising sea levels, melted ice, temp changes, etc -- how might it be different to critters?

if europe is warning women not to breast feed, do we really have any idea how much/how far radiation has spread in the Pacific?

these are all layman questions i have. but i'll tell you one thing:

i can no longer go out in direct sunlight, LITERALLY. it began a few years ago when working a rural mail route. even sunlight through glass, over a period of about 3 or 4 weeks caused sun poisoning. my skin blisters within minutes now -- not hours, not days -- MINUTES.

laugh at me or cry with me all you want, but it doesn't take a rocket scientist to see how change in my immediate surroundings affect me, minute to minute. why not critters as well?

just one woman's opinion -- one that i'll bet the farm on.

[Rebubula]

11. Skin blisters in minutes?

OK....sounds like your problem may go deeper than the sun.

Have you visited Transylvania or been hanging out with sparkling teenagers???

You may be a vampire.

[Ship of Fools]

16. sorry, but your joke belies your ignorance here.

i was assisting my husband building deck stairs -- holding down 2/4s as he used the saw -- direct sunlight on unprotected skin for about 15 minutes now has me laid up for probably about a week (that's usually the length of time). i have to stay in very dry, very cool air for the blisters to subside.

this is fact. i neither exaggerate to you or lie. it blisters. this is documented by my family doc, an allerist and dermatologist. keep your ears to the ground on this one, friend. it happens to my 25-year-old stepdaughter as well, though not as severely.

btw, -- i'm typing this right now after having soaked in cold oatmeal bath. the last extreme case i had, i had to go to the ER for steroid pills.

[Seedersandleechers]

79. Same thing happens to me.

I had 1st, 2nd, and third degree burns on the upper body after being out 20 minutes. Nothing was more painful.

[RC]

34. See post #32

BP's Deepwater Horizon oil leak in the Gulf has cause far more damage and is still spreading more than Fukushima is or has.

[alfredo]

18. Sounds like you might have a sun allergy.

BTW, I used to be a rural route carrier. I transferred to city because it was easier to advance to full time there. It's a great job.

NALC for those who care enough to stand with their brothers and sisters.

[Ship of Fools]

21. you are absolutely correct

but i'll go further in that it has become so severe that i really can't do much anymore than go from a building to a vehicle. this sucks, because i spent a majority of my childhood barefoot and romping around the woods. watched & collected all kinds of critters.

[alfredo]

28. I hope you have applied for disability. I am very sun aware.

All those years in the sun will catch up with me.

I still go out, but I am careful to stay away from the early afternoon sun.

[Ship of Fools]

23. it was my all time favorite job,

second to my former life as a professional violinist. 104 mile route -- all on gravel roads, near the flint hills here in KS. the most beautiful panoramic views i've seen in a long time!! LOVED IT.

[alfredo]

31. My route was in the inner Bluegrass region. Horse farms and

extreme poverty side by side. I had mostly paved roads. My city route featured ten miles of walking, pit bulls and crack dealers. It also had some of the finest people one could hope to know. The crack dealers didn't mess with me. I knew their mothers.

[Ship of Fools]

39. knowing the moms -- that does work!!

[alfredo]

51. Especially on Saturdays when they had fish fries and BBQ.

[Ship of Fools]

53. never had that pleasure

but i often did hang around to listen to a lonely old farmers' complaints. about the weather. :)

[alfredo]

81. We had a lot of lonely people on my route. Sometimes I

was the only human contact they had all day. I always made sure the oldest were OK. One of my favorite died while I was on vacation. She fell and broke her hip. The carrier didn't know to check on her. She laid there for three days before she was found. By then she was too weak to survive. She was 93.

My substitute really beat himself up over that.

[Rebubula]

6. Nice ignorant post

Seriously, the homicidal tendencies of dolphins has been documented for many years in many regions of the oceans.

Correlation does NOT equal causation.

I 2nd the SIGH from Codeine - silly posts like that one just make you look foolish. As you said...you know nothing about this stuff.

[Ship of Fools]

13. and they suggested

columbus was crazy, too. just sayin.

correlation does NOT equal causation. good one. i'll remember that as my skin blisters off more and more every year.

[Rebubula]

14. So...

...you compare yourself to Columbus?

If Columbus had said the world was round while, at the same time, hundreds of ships were seen careening off the side of the planet - THEN your comment would have been analogous.

Seriously...if your skin is blistering off - you likely have a very serious skin issue that would be bad in any light. I have never met anyone like that - the beaches are still full and my pool is still crowded with kids pissing in the water with abandon.

[Ship of Fools]

19. oh please. don't even go there.

i'm saying that the reaction here is just as ignorant -- and i am not the only one who is having a very real, very physical reaction to the changing environment.

the first time i visited the docs a few years ago about this, my family practitioner responded with a wince and said, simply, i had to stay out of direct sunlight.

i tested negative for lupus.

have you not heard of sun allergies, and in extension, extreme allergies to such? i know i'm not alone.

sun poisoning is real and it can be extreme, i kid you not.

[TheWraith]

45. Actually, Columbus WAS crazy.

He was just really fucking lucky. Everyone of education knew that the world was round; Columbus's idea was that he could just sail all the way from Europe to India directly. If there hadn't been an unexpected continent in his way, he and his crew would have starved to death long before they reached their goal.

And describing one of the fundamental tenets of science as a good joke doesn't exactly bolster faith in your understanding of the scientific process. Your skin condition is not a measurement of the world's environment.

[Ship of Fools]

48. alright. i'm going to jump in to the snark fest.

i am also aware of the accident of columbus. you continue to jump on me apparently without reading further down the page. fault me for a bad analogy, but don't make assumptions about my understanding of scientific process. sometimes a cigar is just a cigar, you know.

yes, my skin condition is a measurement of the world's environment, as are the rapidly increasing numbers of skin cancers worldwide. ozone depletion is real and the increasing intensity of the sun is real. please, prove me wrong on those facts, at which point i would happily concede.

(btw, *the wraith* are pretty old school, don't you think?)

[TheWraith]

49. "yes, my skin condition is a measurement of the world's environment"

I make my assumptions about your scientific knowledge based on statements like that. Also on "please, prove me wrong on those facts, at which point i would happily concede." That's not how science works: you made the claim, you need to prove it, not expect others to disprove it. Most of what you say is directly contrary to scientific method.

Your skin condition is probably caused by some sort of genetic condition that makes you particularly reactive to sunlight. That's not "a measurement of the environment," or proof that your skin problems were caused by the BP oil spill. People have had skin conditions and skin cancer long before we had ozone depletion. While environmental damage is real, the idea that all health problems are directly tied to it is patently false.

[Ship of Fools]

52. otay, panky -- i'll play

i made the claim that my body, perfectly healthy until the last decade when kansas went into hottest-decade overdrive, BEGAN to react poorly to intense and direct sun, and has increased every year to the point of debilitation. all of that goes along with the FACT of ozone depletion -- as those in the know now provide more and more frequent warnings for certain areas at certain times -- and those warnings include Kansas more and more often, which could probably be documented. i won't go that far, because i don't feel well; however, i'm not bailing on that point. -- the warnings are more frequent. if you will accept doctors' explanations/diagnoses as PROOF, then that is my proof. simply put, direct exposure to sunlight has become increasingly problematic for me. my presentation may be shoddy, but this is my proof.

my condition is probably caused by genetic condition? the word *probably* now becomes your problem.

skin cancers have been occurring long before ozone depletion, yes -- but as i understand it, it has increased dramatically, worldwide, in OUR LIFETIME. i did NOT say that my skin problems were caused by bp spill; that was another discussion altogether. i did not say ALL health problems are directly tied to env. damage, i said that mine was, due my docs' diagnoses and ozone depletion warnings happening more frequently in my area. i put all of this together with similar experiences of people i come in contact with, which include my stepdaughter and others. this is not made-up material -- i am being absolutely honest with you. had i said *all* health probs are directly tied to env damage, you obviously have a point, but i did not. therefore, it does not make anything i've described to you *patently* false.

now, it is your turn, if you care to. frankly, i no longer do. sorry.

i'm getting increasingly exhausted by over analysis on this site. i find most posters refreshing when i engage with them, because they are patient and enjoy the teaching aspect. i have great respect for them. the other refreshing part is that i feel like those posters get whatever point i'm TRYING to make, even if not expertly presented, and then go on to agree or disagree. i appreciate your concern for presentation. i stated in further posts on this page that i am no scientist, rely a LOT on gut feelings, yet i can proudly say that those gut feelings are very often correct. the above was an attempt to appease you, but my guess is it probably won't.

no snark here, but i would be interested to know if you followed bsg. personally, i found it a major step forward in syfy entertainment. i did enjoy the wraith back in the day, however.

thank you.

[FLPanhandle]

7. You do know that dolphins aren't the cuddly things you saw on "Flipper"

Dolphin behavior is well documented and it isn't pretty. Rape, killings, starvation, bullying are common in dolphins.

[Ship of Fools]

10. sorry, didn't know.

i already said that i know nothing about this. just a feeling.

[FLPanhandle]

33. Don't feel bad, most people don't know.

They look like smiling happy things and people only see them at SeaWorld. I'd say 90% of the population don't know Dolphins (especially the males) are real assholes.

No need to project anything environmental to their behavior in this case.

[TygrBright]

58. Wow. They really are just like humans! n/t

[Cetacea]

60. Whether it's common is debatable.

We also don't know if this is something new. They still refuse to harm humans for some reason...

[FLPanhandle]

62. They don't "refuse to harm humans."

Google it.

Dolphins have harmed/killed humans numerous times.

Where did you get the impression they refuse to harm humans?

[Cetacea]

72. Science. Thats where.

[FLPanhandle]

74. Science & examples disagree with your assertion that Dolphins never harm humans

Fail.

Edit to add we had two dolphin bite encounters in this area in the last couple of years. That's just here.

[Cetacea]

77. "Bite encounters"" LOLOLOL

Tell me. Did these dolphins rip the heads off of the humans involved>? Because they are certainly capable of doing just that and quite easily.

And what were the conditions, prey tell?

Did they kill the humans?

Cough it up.

Science wants to know.

Don't pull that FAIL crap on me, kiddo.

[FLPanhandle]

78. YOU asserted Dolphins quote "refuse to harm humans"

You failed kiddo.

:rofl:

Come back when you know more about dolphins than a Disney movie

[Cetacea]

65. They are certainly "cuddly" with humans

And for the most part with one another. They are just as entitled to aggression as the rest of us. But I would submit that they have higher ethics than humans, especially when it comes to dealing with humans. Sometimes I wish they didn't.

[Recursion]

8. Unfortunately, with intelligence comes malice

It's pretty well-observed throughout Animalia.

[Rebubula]

15. Agreed. NT

[Steerpike]

36. Have

you ever watched a monkey cage in a zoo? Yikes!!!

[Odin2005]

12. What an ignorant post.

[Ship of Fools]

17. sorry. someone beat you to it.

keep reading my take below. it's real enough for me. open up your mind, my friend. i'm not the enemy here.

[underseasurveyor]

46. Much of the ignorance around here

is not yours. I noticed you raised and asked questions and didn't make statements of fact because admittedly you said you didn't know. Unless you're really into reading about dolphins how would you know this was well documented behaviour for them.

It is sickening how you were jumped on after simply raising some questions. Some of the holier-than-thou 'I know better than you' unkind attitudes were not how this place started out to be but unfortunately it has become that way.

Glad you're here :hi:

[snooper2]

22. See what happens when you rely on your gut and not rational thought

[Ship of Fools]

25. if you saw my physical appearance today,

you may believe a little more in gut vs. *rational* responses.

[snooper2]

37. Why, are you bloated?

[Ship of Fools]

40. no, not bloated, per se

however, my skin from forehead to toes, is "raised," kind of like when you get a burn ... it's beat red and covered with pustules that itch as bad as any poison ivy.

thanks for your concern, though.

[snooper2]

47. how can I be concerned about something I know nothing about?

I'm pretty smart but not THAT fucking smart :)

If you have a creek nearby I would go lay in it. Nothing makes a skin irratiation/burn/poison oak/whatever feel better than a nice stream...

[Blue-Jay]

41. LOL!

[RC]

32. More than likely oil in the water from BP Gulf drilling or their use of Corexit,

Or both. This shit is on its way to the Pacific.

[Shagbark Hickory]

2. I guess they're even closer to humans than we thought. nt

[madmom]

20. Years ago I read articles about dolphins raping, this kind of thing has been documented for years.

[Cetacea]

70. Most of it is propaganda, I assure you.

Males can be very aggressive, and having sex underwater is not easy. To prove rape is going on is nearly impossible.
The fact remains that dolphins have a very liberal lifestyle and are very supportive of one another and humans (and their pets, too)

[MoonRiver]

24. This was my first feeling after reading the post.

These dolphins may be young survivors of Tajii and other dolphin massacres. They learned and then modeled violence and rage, just as abused children do. That rage has to spill over, usually on other innocents, such as they once were. Tragic consequence of human barbarism and cruelty toward a species with a brain that is almost identical to that of humans.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spindle_neuron

[Codeine]

29. Double sigh. nt

[FLPanhandle]

35. +1

[Ship of Fools]

42. dear codeine:

could please expound with your sigh posts? i don't understand. do you have expertise? thank you in advance.

[Cetacea]

61. Good post. n/t

[mysuzuki2]

26. I blame the parents.

[Codeine]

30. Spare the fin and spoil the pup. nt

[Brickbat]

27. "Innocent," snerk.

[Ship of Fools]

38. one last post about this before i slink

my semi-embarrassed self off to bed for the rest of the week!

my apologies. i did NOT know all this info about dolphins and, unfortunately, didn't see (until just now) the poster's first sentence before the article.

HOWEVER.

that being said, i would like to leave with a few more thoughts about the importance of first-hand experiences and giving an honest person the benefit of the doubt:

1. ozone depletion? i moved to KS from NY 25+ years ago. in the past decade, my physical reaction to the record-breaking temps and sun intensity here has been absolutely staggering. it increases EVERY YEAR. skin cancer is on the rise, world wide, and we need to be aware of it, all of us. protect yourself well. i've gotten lazy and am now paying for it. my husband, a good-ol KS boy, works outdoors (a lineman for an electric company). he is also lazy and is now paying very dearly for it.

my skin (no pun intended) is finally becoming a little tougher since i started reading y'all on DU. i'm here to learn. i'm big enough to admit that i know next to nothing about a lot of things. i spent the first half of my life at conservatory, in 8x10 cells (practice rooms) and became a pretty damned good classical violinist. gave it up due to burnout, then moved out here to KS. i've since worked at various jobs, but out-of-doors employment (along with mowing 2+ acres on my farm by hand) has doomed me. like i said, if you saw my physical appearance at this moment, it might give you pause.

2. there was a post here on DU a while back about a bunch of sharks that had beached themselves, all having internal bleeding. does anyone remember it or has anyone heard what the cause was? just asking.

3. am i wrong in the understanding that algae depletion (too much sun/heat?) affects oxygen levels in water, creating major problems for other beings in the water? that's where leaping fish come to mind and, thus, my sense of increasing agitation in the critters around us.

4. coyotes out here are going a little nuts, too. MUCH more aggressive. i'm hearing about a lot more of livestock attacks these past couple of years. my little weiner dog came uncomfortably close to being dinner to a lone coyote the other evening -- i had to come to the rescue. this was on a 2-acre property, not out in the fields.

5. armadillos moving north. certain bird species moving out ... random concerns, but these are a few facts i've been alerted to. just asking those in the know.

lastly, snark really doesn't become a lot of you. i can read -- we're all pissed. but i'd prefer to be informed, not attacked.

otherwise, thank you for all you do, DU.

[yawnmaster]

44. And lets not forget the human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together, and mass hysteria!

Lets not ignore the signs!

[Divernan]

56. So what science classes have you ever taken?

Really, all you need to do is observe the world in which you live, and you will see indicators of environmental problems. It is a good thing for people to discuss these. See, DU is a discussion board, not a snark board. So try to play nice, why don't you? It will be good for your psyche!

[yawnmaster]

59. Note that observations alone do not make for science...

and I do go into hyperbole mode (snark) when anecdotal observations are substituted for the scientific methodology.

For if observation is all it takes, then I could go to any era, including primeval and prehistoric eras, and make observations that I would think are indicators of environmental problems.

I will continue to make light of "panic" resulting from anecdotes and observations, when I feel it is due.
For the bane of hyperbole is sarcasm.

[Divernan]

63. Observations are the beginning of scientific theory.

The fact that observation is embedded in theory does not mean observations are irrelevant to science. Scientific understanding derives from observation, but the acceptance of scientific statements is dependent on the related theoretical background or paradigm as well as on observation. Coherentism, skepticism, and foundationalism are alternatives for dealing with the difficulty of grounding scientific theories in something more than observations. And, of course, further, redesigned testing may resolve differences of opinion.

Nobody here was claiming scientific certainty.

Nobody was putting forth a scientific methodology, or claiming that a scientific methodology was irrelevant, or that anecdotal observations were a substitute for methodology.

Someone put forward a theory based on direct life experience/observation.

That is the scientific traditon. Nobody was claiming a "scientific methodology", which of course everyone should know is only developed AFTER a theory has been propounded and is to be tested. Darwin made his initial observations on his journey to the Galapagos and elsewhere, but didn't publish his theory for some 25 years.

I repeat. Try and open your mind to new ideas or possibilities. As a graduate student, I had the privilege of administering a questionnaire on the philosophy of science to a group of Nobel laureates, including I. I. Rabi of Columbia University (who won the award for physics in 1944), and he mentioned the role of serendipity, i.e, finding something totally unexpected while searching for/researching something else. That happens to people who don't have narrow views or closed minds.

Read about the philosophy of science and the history of scientific discovery.

Galileo observed the stars.
Newton observed a falling apple, as well as how sunlight passing through a prism spread out into a colored band of light.
Scientists, beginning with Leonardo da Vinci, observed that the displacement of leaves around a stem occurs in patterns defined by the fibonacci series.

The "panic" you refer to is what is demonstrated by small-minded people who are frightened by new or unusual ideas - those were the kind of people who burned scientists at the stake.

Look up Giordano Bruno, who was burned at the stake and came to be regarded as a martyr for free thought and modern scientific ideas.

"Two other Italian scientists of the time, Galileo and Bruno, embraced the Copernican theory unreservedly and as a result suffered much personal injury at the hands of the powerful church inquisitors. Giordano Bruno had the audacity to even go beyond Copernicus, and, dared to suggest, that space was boundless and that the sun was and its planets were but one of any number of similar systems: Why! -- there even might be other inhabited worlds with rational beings equal or possibly superior to ourselves. For such blasphemy, Bruno was tried before the Inquisition, condemned and burned at the stake in 1600. Galileo was brought forward in 1633, and, there, in front of his "betters," he was, under the threat of torture and death, forced to his knees to renounce all belief in Copernican theories, and was thereafter sentenced to imprisonment for the remainder of his days."
http://www.blupete.com/Literature/Biographies/Science/Copernicus.htm

[yawnmaster]

66. well, alright then. We agree that hyperbole has no place in the scientific method. eom

[Divernan]

68. Self delete

[Divernan]

69. I agree that hyperbole has no place in replying to a serious poster on a thread.

[yawnmaster]

75. +1000

[JanMichael]

50. It's not you

In the past few months on DU, anyone who posts about climate change, chemicals in food in our grocery stores, or other subjects are attacked as whackos. I promise you, within half an hour, someone will call either you or I or someone else on this thread either hysterical, or just make fun of them.

The change is online as well. DU is NOT what it used to be.

[Divernan]

57. +1000

I don't know if the snark and rage which have become the norm around here are the result of psychological distress or of posters being paid to spin and demean.

I think anyone who expresses concerns about current environmental issues, like what BP has gotten away with, is perceived as criticizing Obama, even if they don't mention his name.

[Divernan]

54. I'm a master scuba diver who has dived & snorkled w/bottlenose dolphins

and even touched and held one in a "dolphin encounter" at Anthony's Key Resort in Roatan, Honduras. Dolphins can swim with bursts of speed up to 20 mph. It's pretty damn thrilling when one of them comes at you full speed and then turns on a dime less than 10 feet away from you.

I've done a lot of reading about species I see underwater - particularly sharks and dolphins. One concern I've learned of re bottlenose dolphins is that male dolphins can become sexually agressive around humans - seeing adult males as rivals and adult females as potential conquests. I've read/heard of a number of incidents, including one encounter participant getting rammed in the crotch by a dolphin! Here's an excerpt from one article I just looked up for you all:

http://www.smashinglists.com/beautiful-aquatic-creatures-kill-you/

Dolphins can be violent. Not only have they been known to kill and maim their own young, they also kill porpoises and play with their dead carcass for no apparent reason other than its fun. Male dolphins particularly show aggression towards human males when there’s a female involved. Why? Sexual competition. They may also drown your wife while attempting to steal her away and mate with her. In 2002 CNN reported that an amorous dolphin was targeting swimmers in Weymouth, England. Swimmers were being warned to stay away from the dolphin because “When dolphins get sexually excited, they try to isolate a swimmer, normally female. They do this by circling around the individual and gradually move them away from the beach, boat or crowd of people.” When dolphins get sexually aroused, they become rough. The swimmer may not be able to escape from the 400 lbs animal and drown. And in 1994, a male Bottlenose off the coast of San Paolo, Brazil, that was noted to be fond of female human swimmers attacked a pair of human males that the dolphin apparently considered to be competition and killed one of them.
____________________________________________________________________________________________

I'm looking forward to a trip next September to the Scottish highlands where I will be observing wildlife, including the bottlenose dolphins in the Moray Firth.

[Cetacea]

67. The 1994 story was debunked. No dolphin has ever killed a human,

Thanks though. I just learned of this Brazilian affair recently myself. The death was real but later found to be unrelated to the dolphin behavior.

[Divernan]

71. I believe you. But I do know of multiple reports of aggressive behavior toward

adult males, and one diver who experienced it himself.

They are such powerful, magnificent creatures. Sharks are as well, but dolphins don't scare the shit out of you the same way! And we puny humans are so awkward and helpless in the ocean currents and surges.

[Cetacea]

76. Yes. Interesting that they treat pregnant women especially gently

They can "see" the fetus with their sonar..

We ARE so puny and helpless in their habitat. They really are good hosts.

[Divernan]

55. You all owe Ship of Fools a big fat apology. Science backs her up.

And it was really unconscionably rude to call her ignorant simply because you disagree with her. She was polite in her posts.

So here's some scientific facts re bottlenose dolphins, complete with links.

Keep in mind that bottlenose dolphins are an apex predator species.

First let us look at the Los Angeles Dolphin Project, which has been ongoing since 1985. That's over a quarter of a century, which probably makes it older than some of you posters. It's research is being conducted under General Authorization N. 856-1835 permitted by the National Marine Fisheries Service.

"Ecology, Social Structure and Contaminant Load Comparison of
Inshore/Offshore Bottlenose Dolphins in the Southern California Bight

Bottlenose dolphins are important bio-indicators of the health of marine ecosystems as they are predators at the top of the marine food chain. By studying these animals, we can learn more about the overall status of our oceans and assess the impact of human activities like overfishing and pollution. Careful monitoring is essential to the recognition of adverse trends in marine populations in a world that has neglected sustainability and pushed ocean “capacity” to the limit."
http://www.oceanconservation.org/research/ladpone.htm

Next, let's paddle over to NOAA's Southeast Fisheries Science Center & the dolphin health assessment studies they perform.
http://www.sefsc.noaa.gov/labs/beaufort/protected/marinemammals/health.htm
"Health Assessment Studies

We collaborate with partners along the Atlantic coast and in the Gulf of Mexico to compare the health of dolphins from different stocks exposed to different stressors or situations, such as

* naïveté to diseases such as
o morbillivirus
o bartonella
* chronic exposure to contaminants such as
o polychlorinated biphenyls
o brominated flame retardants
* exposure to harmful algal blooms"
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

In case y'all missed it, they're studying the impact of environmental/chemical contaminants on bottlenose dolphins. Because those contaminants are ingested by the smallest forms of ocean life, which are then eaten by the next larger form, and so on, up the ladder to apex predators, where these contaminants become concentrated. And apex predators are considered indicator species. Look that one up. I'm sorry for those of you who never got a proper basic education in science.

So congratulations to you, Ship of Fools. Being an intelligent person, and applying basic scientific principles which all of us should have learned in high school biology/chemistry classes, and adding in the insights you've gained from your years of studying and dealing with your own health issues, you instinctively came up with a quite rational theory.

As a diver who monitors the health of the oceans, and who is blessed with an environmentalist son who is constantly providing me with current information on ocean health, I immediately understood and agreed with your theory.

[originalpckelly]

73. They need to experiment at college.

That'll take their minds off the females for a while. Some species actually already do this, and perhaps this violence is a reason why.

[jmowreader]

80. They're killing porpoises because they can't get laid?

Sounds like the way the Iraq War started.