Mirror Turns Dolphins Into Total Hams (with video)

The intelligence of cetaceans should be without question. The behaviour of these dolphins would seem to only confirm that belief.

Years ago, I had the opportunity to observe, quite by accident, an Orca hunting a sea lion. I was still working and living in Alaska at that time, and had some time off, so I decided to walk along the shore to an old fish delivery dock across the bay so I could shoot some pictures of some of the fishing boats at the plant across the way where I was working at the time...

As I was doing this, one of the sea lions, who are notorious mooches by the way..., came rocketing in from out in the bay. By rocketing, I mean any faster and he'd have been throwing a rooster tail... Anyway, this peeked my curiosity a mite, so I started scanning the water further into the bay. Lo and behold, a couple of orcas were standing upright in the water, I think they call it periscoping, watching for the sea lion. Under the dock, the sea lion was splashing around in the rocks getting out of the water (can't say as I blame him, really...) to get away. After waiting a bit, the orcas swam away, or seemed to... Evidently, the sea lion thought so, too. 'cause a bit later, I got some pretty good pictures of him as he headed back out to deeper water to feed some more. A few minutes later, a black fin comes cruising by the dock, from behind me!!, and as he's swimming by me, I swear to god he smiled at me (can't prove it, of course), as he begins stalking the sea lion. A few moments later, the sea lion erupts out of the water about 50 yards out...his entire body out of the water. I didn't know that sea lions could even do that... While he's still in the air, that same orca is coming out of the water after him. The rest, as they say, was blood and splashing... Of course, my camera was completely forgotten while all this was going on...damn it.

This same pod of orcas was notorious for raiding halibut long line sets, as well. Fishermen were furious when all they'd pull onto their boats were the heads of halibut. The orcas would, seemingly, wait until the fishermen were beginning to pull in the catch, and about halfway up from the bottom would swoop in, and nibble off the entire fish. Except for where the hook might be...

Oh, there were some angry, angry fishermen...

Then there was the baby gray whale that got too close to our dock for mama's comfort. Little guy came in, apparently to see what all the noise was about, and mama gray whale didn't much care for it. I watched this all from a second story window. Mama came in, and you could almost hear her yelling at baby to get the hell outta there and get back here... While all this is going on, activity on the dock had come to a complete standstill. Everyone was watching the baby whale...

There is no doubt, what so ever, in my mind that these creatures are very intelligent. My stories are hardly unique. I've never encountered dolphins or porpoises, they are perhaps even more intelligent than their larger cousins.

Intelligence can not, in my view, be judged completely by tool use...or lack of same.

reply to post by seagull


I tried this yesterday but he server was down, so here I go again. I was on a sailboat with my GF and dive buddy in the Gulf . There had been a pod of Dolphins following us, jumping near the bow for about 2 hours. We got to our dive site and geared up. Everything was fine until the tide changed. I got separated from my buddy due to the current but the pod was diving with us. My regulator and back-up both failed and started free flowing. At 60feet with no one in sight this is not a good thing. I started to go back up, not sure where I was in relation to the boat, when I got "bumped".

It was one of the dolphins from the pod that had been swimming with us. It stayed with me until I got to the surface, then continued to stay around. The boat, my buddy were nowhere around. That dolphin swam next to me and "gave me a ride" he/she knew where to go. I got back on the boat happy that I didn't make the script for Deep Water. All this happened in 1994. That dolphin and pod stayed around the boat until we got back to port.

reply to post by hoagy1199



Hoagy,

Now that is an awesome story.

Starred!

reply to post by hoagy1199


Wow.

Thank god for dolphins, eh?

Thanks for sharing that, sir.

reply to post by Realtruth


Thanks, I tried yesterday but the servers were down. I wish I could see him/her again just for the chance to say THANKS!

reply to post by seagull


Seagull,

Thanks, but I think they know more than we do and are more compassionate. How often do we stop for someone with a flat tire and offer to help without fear of being shot?

reply to post by hoagy1199


Unfortunately, there's a lot of truth to that, isn't there?

I stop, but there's always that nagging little thought/fear in the back of my head... "what if...". Sad commentary, isn't it?

reply to post by seagull


Yes, what if. However, given my situation, I was happy for the assist. Not to mention that I wouldn't be posting this without the help. I do believe they know and I just happen to be a Veterinary Tech. I spend alot of time with animals (human and others)

Robert

dolphins are highly intelligent animals, and the best way to prove that is the fact that they have as much fun as they do. they are not worried about all the issues we as humans have to concern ourselves with everyday. why would they want to when they get to show off in their world all day and do as they please when they please? i would much rather swim the oceans, beat up a bully or 2 (sharks) along the way to help those ignorant humans from becoming lunch, what would be the reverse saying for a 'fish out of water'? well that would be aimed towards a human in water, seeing how water is the number one greatest enemy of humans, other than other humans. it is plainly obvious in the OP that they not only recognize themselves but are having a wonderful time seeing themselves for the 1st time.
i agree with some posts to the fact that intelligence is like good and evil, and it is all in the perception of those that are looking, but the way dolphins work with humans (although completely demeaning by us) is a prime example. also the ability to think and make decisions on their own is another sign of intelligence, see below

www.dailymotion.com...

news.bbc.co.uk...

and those of you that still believe dolphins are unintelligent obviously haven't seen the Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy, or otherwise you'd know because they all bailed before the ultimate destruction of Earth!!!

reply to post by Realtruth


oh and if not obvious, i absolutely had to smile with the OP video as well as with this one posted by Realtruth.. much appreciation to this thread of positively killing the doldrums of another monday morning at the old law office

Originally posted by SaturnFX
Dolphins = people of the sea

Do be careful (ladies) when swimming with them...they have been known to get quite...interested...in you. and things could go from fun and frolic to a pretty unnerving experience

There are cases of wild male dolphins killing men out of jealousy..

Male dolphins definitely prefer human females. In fact, a recent incident at a Sao Paulo, Brazil, beach reveals an antagonism toward human males. A wild, resident male dolphin, noted for his friendliness toward women swimmers, attacked two human males, who were evidently considered to be romantic competitors. One of the men died from internal hemorrhaging after being butted by the dolphin. The other man received a broken rib.

So yup...Dolphins are just like people in more ways than just one.

Dolphins are also not overly friendly to their other sea brothers and sisters

Growing evidence shows that the big animals, up to 12 feet long, are killing fellow mammals in droves, wielding their beaks as clubs and slashing away with rows of sharp teeth. Dolphins have been found to bludgeon porpoises to death by the hundreds. Unlike most animal killers, which eat their prey, dolphins seem to have murderous urges unrelated to the need for food.

They have even been observed in recurring acts of infanticide.

Off Scotland, a scientist watched in shock for nearly an hour as an adult dolphin repeatedly picked up a baby in its mouth and smacked it against the water, over and over, until it sank from view.

Off Virginia, researchers found at least nine baby dolphins killed, their ribs broken, their skulls and vertebrae smashed. One small body bore puncture marks matching the pattern of adult dolphin teeth.

"We have such a benign image of dolphins," said Dr. Dale J. Dunn, a veterinary pathologist at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology in Washington, who aided the Virginia study. "So finding evidence of violence is disturbing."

Its wildlife...and like any other wildlife, there are wild streaks in the animal. I personally would love to spend time with dolphins...however, I would not be dropping my guard simply because they appear to be smiling.

the joker from batman also appeared to be smiling

Excellent points and worth the reminder, should one find themselves swimming with the dolphins.

I thought this was pretty cool.

Enjoy!

What a cool thing to catch on video.
I enjoyed it quite a lot.