Displaced Dolphins Rescued From Open Water :) :) :)

[wakeme2008]

Sorry if Dup but I just saw this HAPPY NEWS
:bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce:


http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/national/AP-Katrina-Dolphin-Rescue.html

September 21, 2005
Displaced Dolphins Rescued From Open Water
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Filed at 9:30 a.m. ET

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) -- The last of eight trained dolphins were rescued from the Mississippi Sound after spending weeks in the wild since Hurricane Katrina struck.

The dolphins who lived in captivity at the Marine Life Oceanarium in Gulfport were swept out to sea and scientists have been concerned about their safety ever since, said Connie Barclay, spokeswoman for the National Marine Fisheries Service. The four remaining dolphins were rescued Tuesday.

..more at link...

[TallahasseeGrannie]

1. Wonderful news!

Did anyone happen to see "The Dark Side of Dolphins" last week on National Geographic? Turns out the smiling little guys have some guilty pleasures. I like that.

[CheshireCat]

3. T-Grannie, missed the "The Dark Side of Dolphins"

What are some of their guilty pleasures?

[mtnester]

7. I saw that show too, and dolphins are one of the few animals

besides humans (according to the show), who kill for sport and fun and not to eat

They showed horrible fights among same group individuals, and they also stated that like other animals, they will kill offspring that are not of their genetics, but only if they are sure it is not theirs. If they know they bred with the female, along with others, they will tend to let it live because they cannot be sure it is NOT theirs.

It was a very fascinating show.

[TallahasseeGrannie]

14. They are male chavinists

who make Sharia law look progressive. The trap their females between two of the males and don't let them go. Then they form aliances and share women. The women are kind of slutty, tho... they are always escaping, looking for love in all the wrong places.

They like to body surf right up to the sand and push the fish out of the water where they trap it. (Dolphin X-treme sports)

All that with that little smile!

[TahitiNut]

28. They also have a great sense of humor.

The wild dolphin, JoJo, who befriended me in Grace Bay (T&C, BWI), was known for a particular prank he'd pull. The resorts along Grace Bay, including Club Med, would conduct resort scuba diving courses. Early in the course, the dive instructor would conduct a class in chest-deep water with a group of tourists. As they'd be standing in the water in a circle, JoJo would get a juvenile shark that he'd go beat up (a "mugging") and herd it into the center of the group. He'd then swim in rapid circles around the group, keeping this dazed and groggy shark contained. The tourists would panic and yell and try to get away, thrashing in the water and try to avoid JoJo as well. JoJo seemed to enjoy this.

Another prank he'd pull would be to spot some early morning swimmer and cruise close by as though he were a shark. To explain: a dolphin's flipper is horizontal and the swimming motion of a dolphin causes their dorsal to crest, bobbing up and down through the water in a very distinctive manner. Likewise, a shark, with a vertical tail fin, has a dorsal fin that slices trough the water in a slightly weaving motion, not bobbing up and down. Somehow, JoJo would use his flipper in very short strokes, but use his sid flippers to propel himself with a sightly weaving motion. Well, needless to say, the early morning swimmer would often freak out... and rush for the shore with heart pounding. JoJo would then breach and slap the water... apparently quite satisfied with his joke.

I dove with JoJo a couple of times ... and went snorkeling/swimming with him one-on-one once for about 20-25 minutes. While scuba diving, I once watched him sneak up behind another diver who was cruising along the bottom and observing the bottom life. JoJo came up carefully behind this diver, slightly above him, and then gently nudged his air tank and swam in front of him. Needless to say, this startled the shit out of this tourist diver who damned near spit out his regulator (judging from the burst of bubbles I saw). JoJo was very clearly enjoying himself, swimming with a bit of a tumble. (I could almost hear him laughing.)

There's absolutely no doubt in my mind that JoJo was/is a sentient being -- at least as "intelligent" and aware as me -- and probably more so. On our one-on-one swim, he'd been tussling with a shark and had a fresh bite mark near his dorsal. It was pretty clear he wanted some companionship and gentle fun. We played "dolphin games" (as I later found out), a sort of "monkey see, monkey do" mimicry. When I looked into his eye (which he didn't protect by keeping closed on my side like he does with 'non-friends'), there was SOMEBODY THERE. No doubt about it. (I'm a dog-lover. This was different.) We swam well within (my) arm's length of each other, dipping to the bottom, cresting, under and over each other, and doing barrel rolls. That kind of stuff. JoJo has more than enough muscle to reduce my bones to toothpicks. I could feel the water pressure as he, obviously being CAREFUL, controlled his back flipper strokes so he wouldn't hit me. At the same time, he allowed us to brush lightly against each other a couple of times ... I think the contact gave him some tactile reassurance. It was, needless to say, an almost transcendent experience.

[ninkasi]

43. Thanks for telling us about JoJo.

He sounds like quite a character, obviously intelligent, and with a sense of humor. It must have been a mystical experience, to get to make friends like that. As you said, it's clear that there is "somebody" there.

I'm glad the dolphins in the article were rescued, too. If they were used to captivity, it must have been pretty frightening to them.

[Bucky]

36. Wild animals. I'd expect no better ethics from chimpanzees or Wyomingans.

Frankly, they sound a little "trailer park" to me.

[NaturalHigh]

2. This is great.

It's nice to read a little good news sometimes.

[hlthe2b]

4. We need some good news...

My anger/sadness/depression runneth over for the mass murder/genocide/negligent homicide or however one would like to characterize the human carnage in NOLA and the Gulf coast.

I'm also cringing at opening the animal threads because they are now superceded with news/photos of the pet carnage in NOLA due to the overwhelming (and late) efforts to rescue them with early obstacles at every turn from the authorities.

This is welcome news. (warning: if the minority of DUers who hold contemptuous views of the value of animals (and want to portray such efforts as an "either/or" with efforts towards humans) decide to pipe up in this thread, I can only hope the long-deceased voodoo queen of NOLA rises up to haunt you every day of your remaining self-contratulatory and miserable life! Think I'm pissed off at the stalkers of good news animal threads? Damned right, I am!)

[Richard Steele]

5. So, they were "rescued" from FREEDOM?

And then we should all be happy that they are captives again?

I am less than thrilled.

[Scooter24]

9. many of these dolphins

have never been in the wild, having lived their entire lives in captivity. After reading how some were up to 100lbs underweight, I think they will probably be better off in captivity.

[hardrainfallin]

11. Yeah, I didn't quite get that either: like what dolphin in its right mind

would prefer a fucking tank over the open water of the ocean, however overpulluted and artificially "heated" it may be......

and why are people here jubilant over that?


:yoiks:

[LostinVA]

17. Because most of these dolphins would die in the wild

Most were raised in captivity. And that si a whole another topic. But, these dolphins were rescued, not captured... they would probably have died, or lived a very unhappy, short life.

[demo dutch]

22. You wonder though, if they had a ball while swimming in the big gulf

But knew in order to survive they had come back anyway

[LostinVA]

26. From what's being reported, they didn't have a ball

If they did , then they would have been captured, and I'd be pissed. It sounds as if they were starved and frightened, and very happy to see their trainers and keepers.

[shrike]

20. Animals raised in captivity do not know how to fend for themselves

in the wild. Animals such as dolphins, which are extremely intelligent, must be taught how to hunt, defend themselves, etc., by their mothers.
Even in animals not quite as intelligent as the dolphin, these skills do not come naturally. For example, years ago, some well-meaning animal activists people released minks being kept at Michigan State University. I'm sure they thought they were releasing the mink for a better life. (I do not know what the minks were bred for, BTW.) But the University managed to locate almost all of them. Some were carcasses, some were badly injured and had to be destroyed, and almost all were malnourished. There were also numerous reports by locals of mink ending up in their area, wandering their yards and even fighting with their pets (and losing, I imagine, if ever they tangled with a pit or rottie.) Minks are carnivores and these guys had no idea how to hunt. And they had no idea what to do, apparently.

[hardrainfallin]

27. from the report I saw (believe it was Olberman)

4 of the dolphins were raised in captivity, 4 were not.

I think it reflects a serious degree of arrogance on the part of humans to simply assume these animals would NOT have been able to "figure it out" on their own--esp w four of them having not been born into captivity....

I prefer to imagine (and remember, it's ALL speculation; we cannot and will never know what would have happened to them without human intervention, nor can we know whether they were having a ball or were freaking out just waiting for their human captors to return them to captivity) that they might have developed the skills needed to survive and gone on to live productive oceanic lives which would have included WARNING all the rest of the animals about the fate that might befall them should they ever fall into human hands!

[starroute]

29. But they were also bound by family relationships

At least two of the captivity-born ones were the offspring of one of the wild-born one -- I think a girl of about 14 and a boy of 7. Would you really have them separated from their mother?

There's something of a pottery barn rule at work here. Not quite "you break it, you bought it," but "once you meddle with the delicate skein of nature, you have to stand there holding together the threads you've broken."

On edit: I also have a suspicion that dolphins -- being a great deal older as a sentient life-form than we are and presumably a fair bit wiser -- may have more tolerance for human failings than we do ourselves. Certainly, they keep forgiving us over and over, for no apparent reason other than that they think we have the potential to grow up.

[hardrainfallin]

33. wouldn't the logical option have been to return the wild-born mother

to the wild?

I think they could have at least given these animals a SHOT at learning to re-adjust to life in the wild. Once they'd located them, they could have monitored the situation and stepped in if need be.

Sorry, but I just chalk it all up to human arrogance. I think we like to believe animals "like" us and are more "dependent" on us than we KNOW them to be.

Guess you gotta do something to convince yourself that you've got some purpose on this planet--I mean aside from destroying it, in 500 years or less.

[shrike]

39. Even if four had not been raised in captivity

Years away from the ocean does not make them good candidates for instant release -- especially since the waters surrounding New Orleans are not exactly rife with marine life right now, due to the aftermath of Katrina.

As to whether they might have "figured it out" -- they also might have starved to death in the meantime. (Again, dolphins are very intelligent, and like humans, must learn many skills -- i.e., it is taught to them by adults of their species. A pod of eight dolphins suddenly on their own has no one to teach them.) Or been fed upon by a predator they were wholly unfamiliar with -- orcas eat dolphins, and so do sharks. Nature is not necessarily a nice place. I remember an annual rescue group which had nursed an injured otter back to health and were returning it to the wild. The otter wasn't in the water five minutes before an orca suddenly appeared and swallowed it. The whole thing was captured on film.

A marina is an artificial environment, which is why any animal returned to the wild is reintroduced slowly. It is cruel and irresponsible to assume that an animal that has lived for years in captivity can simply be released, and overnight, find its way in the wild.

While it may seem cruel to cage and restrain these animals, it is equally cruel, IMO, to accustom them to an artificial environment, then suddenly let them off on their own, to somehow rediscover skills that have long been lost.

BTW, I don't know if you are a city-dweller, but if you are -- your ancestors trapped, hunted, gathered plants, built dwellings by hand, etc. If you were suddenly placed in the wilderness to fend for yourself, how quickly could you acclimate? How would you deal with water that doesn't come from a tap? Which plants are safe to eat and which are poisonous? How about hunting? Preparing your meat? Fending off predators? Or you might "figure it all out." But you also might starve or die of thirst in the process.

[maxsolomon]

24. i think 4 of them were able to forage

6 were captive-bred & didn't know how.

or something like that. but i basically agree with your point. my recent trips to the zoo have been markedly less enjoyable than when i didn't consider the animals to be in prison.

[dhinojosa]

35. Maybe I should let my dogs go too.

That makes sense, not.

[Judi Lynn]

6. Such good news. Hope they'll regain their complete health immediately.

[calico1]

8. I am very happy to hear this. Saw it on the news

last night and was so happy and relieved.

For those who think they have had their freedom taken away, please keep in mind that these dolphins have always lived in captivity and did not have the skills necessary to survive in the wild. They seemed to have been very happy and relieved themselves to have been rescued.

[earth mom]

10. Great News! Yippee!

I love Dolphins...and I was worried about them!

:bounce:

[jilln]

12. Too bad. I bet the ocean is a whole lot more fun than a concrete tank.

[GaDemo]

16. Calico 1 is right

These dolphins were never taught how to survive in the wild by their pod like wild dolphins are.

[jilln]

25. It takes several generations for wild animals to "forget" their instincts.

If the aquariums and zoos really cared about them, they would take care of them until they could fend for themselves (which is probably now anyway) and rerelease them.

[shrike]

40. Don't know about that

As bright as dolphins are, I suspect that they, like chimpanzees and us, learn a lot from their mothers. And learning how to hunt, and deal with predators, takes time. How often have these dolphins seen a shark? Not often, I'll bet.

It's also important not to romanticize the natural world too much. I'm sure we'd all like animals to be free, but at this point, zoos and aquariums (the good ones) are providing an important function -- preserving species which are close to being extinct in the wild. (I'd rather have them in the zoo than on a game reserve or part of a "canned" hunt, wouldn't you?"

[Judi Lynn]

13. If I'm not mistaken, were not these dolphins staying as close as possible

to where they were swept from the aquarium, and did they not gather around the trainers who went out on the water, as if overjoyed to see them?

I read they had not eaten sufficiently, were scuffed up, were losing weight fast, and the trainers/handlers immediately started feeding them and giving them antibiotics, vitamins, etc.

At no time did I ever get the feeling their handlers chased them down and captured them.

[wakeme2008]

18. Right they were scared to death

this was not an environment they understood.

[LostinVA]

21. It would be like us having out r plane crash in a desolate wilderness

It would be very hard to survive, even with basic Scouting skills. These mammals didn't even have that....

[Captain Hilts]

23. And the water there is described as 'fetid'. Bad for Flipper, et. al. nt

[pitohui]

31. here's someone who gets it

my home is not my prison nor is these animals' home a prison, it is our security

these ppl who want these animals, several of them captive-bred, dumped in the wild, should throw off their shackles, their credit cards, their houses, and their cars, and they go live in a state of nature & see how they like it


sheesh

there's always somebody to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, isn't there

[bain_sidhe]

41. I was gonna say that!

but you said it better. Sure, I could chuck all my "artificial environment" supports and go live in the wild (maybe), but I don't WANT to. Given that these dolphins stuck around, I'm betting they didn't want to either. I see them almost as refugees like the people - washed out of house and home, trying to get back to "civilization."

[LostinVA]

19. Many born-in-captivity dolphins become very close to their trainers

If you're ever in Marathon (Florida Keys), go on the tour at the Dolphin Research Center on Grassy Key. Worth the money.

[GOPAgainstGW]

15. BUSH: Get those Damn Dolphins GOP Voters Cards! - eom

[cascadiance]

30. O'Reilly will say that we want to marry them...

He did say we liked ducks the other day didn't he? Wak, Wak! Probably feels they need to be protected from us that want to marry them! Better get them GOP voter cards first to protect them!

[Bucky]

37. Not if Bush appoints one to the Supreme Court as his token minority

Just kidding. Dolphins don't have a long enough life expectancy to get a Republican court appointment.

[neuvocat]

32. Thanks for posting that.

I feel better now.

[Kerri_S]

34. That's Great :)

I saw that on the "Today" show. It's good they were able to get all the dolphins back to safe and familiar people and surroundings. The dolphins wouldn't have survived otherwise.

[Piperay]

38. TERRIFIC! nt

[Oreegone]

42. This made my Week

Finally some good news. I watched the footage and these guys were losing weight and several had severe lacerations and infections from the tank breaking open and all the other shit that got dragged into the gulf with them. They were so happy to see their trainers, they looked like puppies. They were REALLY hungry. Even if were training to be in the wild this would not be a good time. A lot of marine life was killed or misplaced so the regular source of food was gone. Many of the wild animals instincts took them away working their way east to avoid the next hurricane they no doubt could feel or hear coming. They said the gulf looked vacant of life the day they found them.

Everybody else was under evacuation orders, declared by the universe.

:grouphug: :cry: :applause: :applause: :woohoo: :woohoo: