The crow family, the apes and dolphins show us what they can understand, but who can beat this bird?
Dolphin worlds are no longer circus-like recreation for humans, but one oceanic species has found it possible to settle down in a relatively restricted habitat. Here is the story of their novel world, with Im sure, more evolutionary possibilities to come.
We have mentioned the state of the great river frequently, but the Mekong generally becomes more dammed and less likely to provide for its people and wildlife. However, good news cannot be ignored in this case and it is really cheering to hear of 3 calves born during this dry season in the freshwater stretches of the river. There is hope that the other populations, in Bangladesh and Myanmar, for example, are also being protected as well as this.
Most recent among a mass of work appearing on dolphin and whale society alongside the equivalent in birds and primates, among many others, the language of sperm whales could well be translated soon as a fascinating set of clan chats.
Whale-watching is varied. You can watch the biggies or find your way north to where most killer whales patrol. Dolphins are probably the easiest to see, if you are lucky to live in the right area, but the orca really ticks boxes for conservation, huge intelligence and quite a glam. appearance (but not in the Aquarium, please!)
When dolphins are 'rescued' in various countries, the car given seems to be ill-considered. We are simply looking at the success rate which is reported to be low, in most places. They could even end up in commercial aquarium shows, but they certainly rarely make it back to the sea.
The thought of bat and whale being related because they have similar hearing is incorrect. If we study a range of species, though, the evolutionary convergences of many kinds of sensory structures is very involving. What's next? Our chimpanzee friends will be developing their typing skills before we know it!
We think we're special, but more and more creatures are appearing as altruistic, language-capable and downright human. Dolphins of course will be one of the first in many people's minds to demonstrate high-level mental capacity, or in this case, great cognition and lengthy memories.
The bottlenose dolphin is the key species to check if strandings and live animals have different stomach contents. This study confirms they have not, which leaves the field clear for extremely valuable research on rare species.
Hector's dolphins off New Zealand are being caught in gill nets used by trawlers fishing illegally inside a sanctuary.
Two dolphin-like Jurassic crocodiles ruled the sea like orcas do now. Whale-like reptiles have been recognised by several generations of fossil hunters as parallel to modern mammals.
The announcement of the Baiji's (Yangtze River Dolphin) extinction was made in December 2006. Long beforehand, scientists and conservationists were filled with trepidation as the dolphin's numbers nosedived.
Bottlenose dolphins hunt with sponges by extracting prey organisms on the sea bed and juveniles copy and learn the trait from their mothers. Male dolphins really let the side down.
The use of algorithms to solve equations has been extended to theorising as to how on earth dolphins cope with their advanced sonar in 'bubbly' conditions they create themselves. No solutions exactly to such a complex problem, but a meeting of mind: human and dolphin - and electronics.
A new research study on the the molecular landscape of brain evolution and cognition of dolphins has been published today.
Fish with us, it's better! New research illustrates how bottlenose dolphins and mullet fishermen cooperate in Laguna-Santa Catarina, Brazil; highlighting how learning can enhance social behaviour.
Male bonding in bottlenose dolphins? A study of Indo-pacific bottlenose (Tursiops sp) dolphin social relationship behaviour shows a close match for advanced human and other sociability.
Bottlenose dolphins ill from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. NOAA marine biologists examined 32 dolphins and found they were underweight, anaemic, had low blood sugar and have some symptoms of lung disease and liver disease.
Whistle if you like me! A new study looks at how bottlenose dolphins use signature whistles as an introduction in the wild.
Three new wildlife sanctuaries, created in the giant Sundarbans mangrove forest, in Bangladesh, will help protect endangered Irrawaddy and Ganges River dolphins.
Dolphins, smaller whales, seals and other marine mammals are among the 87 species eaten in a staggering 114 countries throughout the world, a new study has revealed.
Of the world's remaining river dolphins, the Chinese Lake Dolphin or Baiji (Lipotes vexillifer) has suffered the most. From the large pink Amazonian Botos - to the charmingly shy blue-grey Baiji seems a big step, but once upon a time, scientists believed them to be quite closely related, despite the geographical disparity.
The WWF is reporting that the Irrawaddy dolphin population in the Mekong river is on the verge of extinction. Irrawaddy dolphins could disappear from the Mekong river if action is not taken soon. That's the message from the World Wildlife Foundation (WWF), having conducted 11 studies of dolphin populations in the area between 2007 and 2010.
Wounded bottlenose dolphins seen to heal quickly without infection, scarring or any visible pain. Michael Zasloff, a professor at Georgetown University Medical Centre believes bottlenose dolphins may be the key to finding better ways to promote healing in humans.
Whale and dolphin strandings and deaths may be on the rise due to sonar. In the past few years, whale strandings have risen, says a spokesperson for the Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC) in a May 4 article on ABC News. The DEC isn't sure why whales are stranding more frequently, he says, but it plans to investigate the causes.
Rise in deaths of dolphins in the Gulf of Mexico prompts the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Association to declare it an ''Unusual Mortality Event.'' the NOAA has confirmed that more than 400 dolphins have been found stranded in the Northern Gulf of Mexico, but this number is most likely just a fraction of the total number of actual deaths.
Counting carcasses is not a good way to measure marine death tolls say scientists who have studied the effects of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on cetacean species in the Gulf of Mexico. As many as 50 times more whales and dolphins were killed than carcasses were recovered after the 2010 disaster.
New techniques have shown that groups of dolphins are separated by environmental factors which are starting to produce new species. Conservationists from the Wildlife Conservation Society, the American Museum of Natural History, and other conservation and research groups found that currents are among the factors preventing dolphin mixing in the western Indian Ocean.
Almost a year later, the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is still affecting wildlife. An unusual increase in the mortality rate among dolphins on the Alabama and Mississippi coasts is being reported this week. At least 24 dolphins have died since the beginning of the year, the majority of which have been infant dolphins, either aborted or stillborn during the calving season.
The number of whales and dolphins being beached along the UK coastline has soared dramatically over the past few years, the latest statistics show. Britons are being called upon to watch out for stranded whales and dolphins as conservationists look to explain the ongoing rise in the number being washed onto the nation's beaches..
Most years about 4000 marine mammals beach on US coasts and the causes are often hard to determine. New research in Florida tested the hearing of beached or net-entangled animals that survived, and found that almost 60% of stranding bottlenose dolphins were severely or profoundly deaf.
We present some business ideas for those of you who think that the future is greener than the present- we can think of some who don't ---. The advice is general and does not apply exclusively to any one nation.
We use the tiger (this is a prime Siberian example) to show up our failure to conserve wild species, but while we monopolise all the food that animals require, we could remember that it is not only their conservation we urgently need to cover. It is also our own indulgences.
How can you describe the threats existing to species, both large and small? Using the highly-threatened primates, we can perhaps see how they have contrived to exist until the current time. Then we can better understand just how we can prevent factors simply wiping them from the face of the earth, often through ignorance, lack of care, prejudice and of course the universal profit motive. Conservation begins in our minds, but demands much more than that.
The future is certainly renewable, but are we too late to prevent future centuries problems of global warming- and the rest! Here are some current US solutions to waste and warming for you to enjoy---there are some ads in this piece but weve allowed them for one blog only.
Need to save money after the spending boom to end them all? Here are 2 sets of opinions on how to pull out the plugs at night at least.
When dolphins are 'rescued' in various countries, the car given seems to be ill-considered. We are simply looking at the success rate which is reported to be low, in most places. They could even end up in commercial aquarium shows, but they certainly rarely make it back to the sea.
