Dolphin needs assistance.

Thread Starter

MaxHeadRoom

Joined Jul 18, 2013
28,617
Night-time dive near Hawaii, 2 divers were found by a bottle-nose dolphin and it started to swim around them over and over again.

When looking closer, one of them discovered the reason for this strange behavior - the dolphin had a fishing line hooked around it, hindering its ability to swim.

They cut him free, and the dolphin swam away. The fact that a dolphin would come to humans for help maybe evidence of its' intelligence, as most injured animals would never come close to a human.

This is amazing to watch and a life-time experience for those two divers.

3:14 Minute Video - Best Viewed Full Screen:


http://www.youtube.com/embed/2gvgkHSyKFE

Max.
 

spinnaker

Joined Oct 29, 2009
7,830
Makes you wonder, what where dolphins would would be if they had arms and hands with opposable thumbs. We are the dominant species because of our superior intelligence but I think part of the reason we where able to reach our level of intelligence is the ease with which we can manipulate the world around us.
 

crutschow

Joined Mar 14, 2008
34,280
Makes you wonder, what where dolphins would would be if they had arms and hands with opposable thumbs. We are the dominant species because of our superior intelligence but I think part of the reason we where able to reach our level of intelligence is the ease with which we can manipulate the world around us.
I've often thought of that myself. No matter how intelligent a creature is, if it doesn't have a way to manipulate its environment, then the intelligence is of very limited usefulness in improving the quality of that creature's existence.
 

spinnaker

Joined Oct 29, 2009
7,830
I've often thought of that myself. No matter how intelligent a creature is, if it doesn't have a way to manipulate its environment, then the intelligence is of very limited usefulness in improving the quality of that creature's existence.

It is more than making use of the environment. It is learning from that use. As we learn we adapt.
 

Glenn Holland

Joined Dec 26, 2014
703
It is more than making use of the environment. It is learning from that use. As we learn we adapt.
I wish the business community would stop promoting the idea of growing the economy by open ended growth of the human population and consumption of more and more resources.

I heard the mayor of San Jose comment on the construction of several new high rise apartment buildings in the downtown area and he said "The city's growing and we intend to keep on growing".

A prime example of a metastasizing cancer cell.
 

Thread Starter

MaxHeadRoom

Joined Jul 18, 2013
28,617
That's pretty amazing. I wonder if that dolphin might have had prior experience with humans.
I also saw one of a whale who kept nudging a boat with some guys doing some fishing, one noticed the whale had a plastic bag entangled in his mouth, he leant over and pulled it out, the whale turned around, gave a flap of his tail on top of the water , and was gone!
Max.
 

wayneh

Joined Sep 9, 2010
17,496
Is this new, because of increasing contact, or do these animals do this instinctively, or are they aware of who caused their predicament and smart enough to reason that we might also fix it? Very interesting.
 

wayneh

Joined Sep 9, 2010
17,496
Makes you wonder, what where dolphins would would be if they had arms and hands with opposable thumbs. We are the dominant species because of our superior intelligence but I think part of the reason we where able to reach our level of intelligence is the ease with which we can manipulate the world around us.
Language development is huge, too. It allowed for group learning via oral history. The ability to communicate provided an evolutionary advantage and here we are. They say our DNA differs little from other primates, but some of that difference is related to our vocal chords and ability to make a wider range of sounds than our furry kin.

I know dolphins communicate, but I don't think they're much different than primates in that regard.
 

tcmtech

Joined Nov 4, 2013
2,867
I grew up out in the country and I have very solid reasons to believe that the majority of animals are capable of being able to rationalize that when they need help beyond their own resources and capacities that humans are one of the most capable other living beings to solicit help from if they approach them properly.
 

wayneh

Joined Sep 9, 2010
17,496
The closest thing I can recall was coming across a deer that had been hit and was struggling with a broken hind leg on the side of the road. I approached very cautiously and to my surprise the deer actually calmed down as I drew near. It even seemed to appreciate being touched.
 

GetDeviceInfo

Joined Jun 7, 2009
2,192
The closest thing I can recall was coming across a deer that had been hit and was struggling with a broken hind leg on the side of the road. I approached very cautiously and to my surprise the deer actually calmed down as I drew near. It even seemed to appreciate being touched.
So what did you do? It sounds horrible, but a state of shock provides for an animal to succumb to its demise. Not taking the opportunity allows shock to pass and the anguish return.
 

spinnaker

Joined Oct 29, 2009
7,830
The closest thing I can recall was coming across a deer that had been hit and was struggling with a broken hind leg on the side of the road. I approached very cautiously and to my surprise the deer actually calmed down as I drew near. It even seemed to appreciate being touched.
You didn't put in in the back of your car after he "passed"?


 

Glenn Holland

Joined Dec 26, 2014
703
maybe the dolphins are saying 'hey asshole, is this yours?'. Man places himself on a pretty high pedestal, but it could be very possible that his presence could be a degenerative condition, a DNA mutation caused by illness, infection, parasitic, etc. Maybe something did happen 6000 years ago that dramatically changed the direction of life on this little globe.
The dinosaurs were at the top of the food chain and the "Big Kids On The Block" - - - - - until something happened and they went extinct.

I'm wondering if the same thing will happen to the human species???

Yeah I know someone will comment that I'm part of that human species and a hypocrite for being critical of the way mankind is treating the natural world. However there are "Users and abusers" of the environment and I don't have the cancer cell mentality that mankind is capable of endless growth and consumption.
 

#12

Joined Nov 30, 2010
18,224
Yeah I know someone will comment that I'm part of that human species and a hypocrite for being critical of the way mankind is treating the natural world.
I wouldn't accuse you of being human, but I would like to stay on the topic of people helping animals when they need help instead of trying to drag the conversation into how humans are like cancer on the planet.
 
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