Whales adopt deformed Dolphin

Another feel good story

A Bottlenose dolphin with a spinal deformity has joined a pod of humpback whales.
In the wild its own species usually picks on or ostracises deformed members so they generally live a short lonely life.

“Sometimes some individuals can be picked on. It might be that this individual didn’t fit in, so to speak, with its original group,” Wilson says, speculating that the deformity could have put the animal at a disadvantage among its own kind — perhaps it had a low social status, or just couldn’t keep up with the other dolphins.

Obviously any company is good company when you have none but researchers are stumped as to whats in it for the Whales

In fact, as cetacean ecologist Mónica Almeida e Silva of the University of the Azores in Portugal tells the journal, sperm whales have good reasons not to like Bottlenose dolphins. “Why would sperm whales accept this animal in their group?” she said. “It’s really puzzling to me.”

Andrews in the U.K. explained to Science, the briefness of the observation, and its rarity, as well as how little is known about these particular whales, makes it hard to interpret. They might simply enjoy the dolphin’s attentions, says Rendell, or “they could just be thinking, ‘Wow, this is a kind of weird calf’.”

Maybe Whales have empathy!!
Or maybe whales are just better people than we are

Article

reply to post by IkNOwSTuff

S&F That is really cool, go whales!!

I think whales are way more intelligent then they get credit for. It is good to see of species doing good, lord knows are own could use this as an example.

side note: I think those are sperm whales not humpbacks

reply to post by RN311

I think those are sperm whales not humpbacks

I knew that!!!!!!

It wasnt a silly oversight on my behalf, its was just........ ummmmm......... aha!!!!!!!!
Too early in the morning here to use that kind of dirty language

I guess Dolphins aren't as nice as people would like them to be. Raping and casting out lepers.

Originally posted by CallYourBluff
I guess Dolphins aren't as nice as people would like them to be. Raping and casting out lepers.

Yep, it's called nature. Survival of the fittest.

Only humans have the misguided notion that they can make everything work for everyone.

And look at the state of the world... disarray everywhere. Poverty, hunger, famine, war.

Go humans...

So awesome!! My opinion of dolphins took a shaking. I can't believe that they would ostracize a deformed dolphin

I loved the video. Thanks for posting this. Made me all warm and fuzzy.

Originally posted by GrantedBail
So awesome!! My opinion of dolphins took a shaking. I can't believe that they would ostracize a deformed dolphin

I loved the video. Thanks for posting this. Made me all warm and fuzzy.

They don't exist in utopia you know. They are animals. Wild animals.

Just because they show curiosity towards humans, doesn't mean they are hippies. No more than a hippy is a hippy when he's holding a gun and saying "Stop or I'll shoot."

Not only do they have to survive in the wild with all that entails, they also have to put up with the only species that has developed means to mass produce food, yet still kills anything that moves willy nilly.

We can apply altruistic motive to the whales. But the dolphin obviously poses no threat to them or their food supply.. and probably is company of sorts.

Maybe they don't want to hurt it. Or maybe they're saving it for later when there's no fishies around.

lol good story tho, I don't mean to sound as if I'm not appreciate of it. It's a lot better to see this than some video of land bipeds that treat everything as a commodity.

Originally posted by RN311
reply to post by IkNOwSTuff

 

S&F That is really cool, go whales!!

I think whales are way more intelligent then they get credit for. It is good to see of species doing good, lord knows are own could use this as an example.

side note: I think those are sperm whales not humpbacks

Nope. Those are humpbacks. I cannot believe the op bought it to.

great Video, now the human egos have nothing over whales or dolphins deformed or not.

Dolphins are aggressive creatures and their social interactions are often violent. Dolphin sex is basically abduction and gang-rape. For all that, dolphin society is very complex and living in it is natural to dolphins; an outcast dolphin probably won't survive long on its own.

This one won't, either. With that deformity – and without the cooperation with other individuals on which dolphin foraging largely depends – it probably won't be able to feed itself. The sperm whales couldn't help even if they wanted to – they take their prey at depths of as much a kilometre, far too deep for a dolphin to swim, and I don't think they bring the leftovers up with them when they surface.

So it's curtains for this poor dolphin, unfortunately.

By the way, sperm whales tend to vary in shape much more than most animals do – they sport all kinds of odd lumps and bumps – so perhaps they're a bit more tolerant of odd-shaped individuals than other species are.

reply to post by IkNOwSTuff


The Dolphin seems to act like a whale too. What a beautiful story, everyone needs companionship, acceptance and love.

Do you suppose the whales think the Dolphin is a baby whale?

I can only think of one word to say to that:

AWWWWWWWW!!!

wow.. absolutely amazing footage! Such beautiful creatures!!
I hope this dolphin can defy the odds and does just fine. Thanks for posting this, I hadn't seen it.

reply to post by winofiend


interesting video !

hasnt survival of the fittest been shown to be not 100% accurate , because there are islands where there are animals which share the same territory and are natural predator / prey yet they dont eat each other .

Animals do live in some form harmony , where as we dont !

Originally posted by RN311
reply to post by IkNOwSTuff

 

I think whales are way more intelligent then they get credit for. It is good to see of species doing good, lord knows are own could use this as an example.

in addition to that, i dont think that deformity looks natural. it looks like the dolphin got hooked up in something wrapped around it that eventually burst off. but not before the dolphin had a deformed growth pattern to compensate for the restriction.

in other words.. man once again.. may be responsible.

reply to post by sapien82

hasnt survival of the fittest been shown to be not 100% accurate , because there are islands where there are animals which share the same territory and are natural predator / prey yet they dont eat each other .

I've never heard of such islands, yet it's easy to imagine such a thing happening. For example, the island may harbour some other food that is easier for the predator to get at, so it ignores its 'natural' prey in favour of the easier kill. It's very easy to change animals' behaviour by feeding them – that's why every conservationist on Earth will tell you that it's bad to feed wild animals. It's bad for the animals in the long run because it changes their habits and makes them dependent on handouts.

Variations in predator-prey relationships don't mean natural selection has stopped workin, it just means that the conditions of selection have changed. Natural selection never stops working – not even in civilised, well-fed humans.

It looks to me that the dolphin could have been caught by a drum line early in its life. Just speculation but that deformity is right where drum lines catch sharks.

reply to post by IkNOwSTuff


!! Awesome !!



Thank you for sharing also wondering why is poor dolphin deformed ..

reply to post by IkNOwSTuff

This is an absolutely beautiful clip of how animals care for one another. The same as we should as human beings in MHO. I believe one day we will get to that very understanding that we all need each other regardless of race, social standing or financial backing.
This clip really touched my heart...thank you op for sharing it on ats.

reply to post by Astyanax


It was a new volcanic island that had arisen due to volcanic activity , scientists had then observed all sorts of animals living on it , Im not sure if there was an abundant food source for them which is why they didnt feed on each other!

Im not saying natural selection stops , im saying that maybe survival of the fittest isnt the be all end all theory that darwin claims it to be !

even evolution needs to be revised from time to time ! im saying that maybe there is more to it than just what we are told in Darwins theory of evolution