Dolphins save swimmers from shark attack

Message Bookmarked

Bookmark Removed

http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,1357888,00.html

― beanz (beanz), Tuesday, 23 November 2004 16:48 (twenty-one years ago)

*teary-eyed*

― Miss Misery (thatgirl), Tuesday, 23 November 2004 16:53 (twenty-one years ago)

I knooowwww....

― beanz (beanz), Tuesday, 23 November 2004 16:54 (twenty-one years ago)

I wish I had "The Selfish Gene" by Richard Dawkins with me because there was something in there about his theory about how dolphins are genetically programmed to help any creature smaller than them (or roughly the same size as them, I can't remember) that is struggling in the water, I guess to keep their little baby dolphin genes going. Obviously I'm not remembering the details very well though.

― n/a (Nick A.), Tuesday, 23 November 2004 17:00 (twenty-one years ago)

I heard a story once about a dolphin ramming a swimmer in the stomach. She sought medical attention and it turned out that she had a big tumor there where the dolphin hit her. It could probably "see" it with sonar and was trying to tell her.

― Maria D. (Maria D.), Tuesday, 23 November 2004 17:05 (twenty-one years ago)

I halfway expected that story to end with an account of unpleasant dolphin rape thanks to previous threads on this board.

― The Ghost of Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Tuesday, 23 November 2004 17:11 (twenty-one years ago)

Are stories like these the liberal version of sightings of the blessed virgin on grill cheese sandwiches?

cuz I wanna believe, baby, I wanna believe in the dolphings!

― Hunter (Hunter), Tuesday, 23 November 2004 17:18 (twenty-one years ago)

as opposed to pleasant dolphin rape?

― Al (sitcom), Tuesday, 23 November 2004 17:21 (twenty-one years ago)

Flipper did this all the time. He loved everything and everyone except sharks and alligators, which he would ram with his bottlenose.

― andy, Tuesday, 23 November 2004 17:22 (twenty-one years ago)

It seems like there are plenty of well-confirmed stories of dolphins helping people who are drowning.

― n/a (Nick A.), Tuesday, 23 November 2004 17:23 (twenty-one years ago)

instead of "genetic programming" is it impossible to believe their intelligent enough to consciously want to help? or maybe that is genetic programming. . .

― Miss Misery (thatgirl), Tuesday, 23 November 2004 17:40 (twenty-one years ago)

Well Dawkins is all about how we're basically just robots that do what our genes tell us to do, that we're all about survival and procreation and nothing else. So he would say no, that dolphins would not benefit for caring for or rescuing humans, so the fact that they rescue them must be due to some kind of "loophole" in their genetic instructions; ie, "help any struggling creature that is roughly your size because it may be a relative and this will help pass your genes on." Of course, this is all a huge oversimplification of what I half remember of Dawkins' theories anyways.

― n/a (Nick A.), Tuesday, 23 November 2004 17:59 (twenty-one years ago)

Plus he's just one dude with one theory.

― n/a (Nick A.), Tuesday, 23 November 2004 18:03 (twenty-one years ago)

You're missing the obvious, Nick: dolphins are very smart. Their whole PR campaign has taken a major blow with the whole raping each other thing; they're trying to get back on our good side, so as not to lose ground on this whole tuna-fishing pact.

― nabisco (nabisco), Tuesday, 23 November 2004 18:32 (twenty-one years ago)

NB we really need to investigate their links with the tuna.

― nabisco (nabisco), Tuesday, 23 November 2004 18:34 (twenty-one years ago)

I think links are the problem.

― Jarlr'mai (jarlrmai), Tuesday, 23 November 2004 19:21 (twenty-one years ago)

dolphin-friendly sausages.

― RJG (RJG), Tuesday, 23 November 2004 19:36 (twenty-one years ago)

I'm assuming we've discussed this in another thread?
http://us.news2.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/afp/20041118/capt.sge.her88.181104170602.photo00.photo.default-212x384.jpg

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Tuesday, 23 November 2004 19:38 (twenty-one years ago)

Is that a prosthetic dolphin tail?

― Jarlr'mai (jarlrmai), Wednesday, 24 November 2004 11:17 (twenty-one years ago)

God I hate dolphins. (Sorry)

― Kevin Gilchrist (Mr Fusion), Wednesday, 24 November 2004 11:22 (twenty-one years ago)

there's a store in myrtle beach called the Gay Dolphin, but the name is misleading. they don't sell dolphins.

― latebloomer (latebloomer), Wednesday, 24 November 2004 11:41 (twenty-one years ago)

omg Kevin what if they're reading this and you go swimming one day and there's a shark and there's dolphins and they see the shark and they don't help you cos you said you hate them and you get eaten up by the shark while the dolphins look on going "tk-tk-tk-tk-tk-tk-tk-tk" which means "haha he hates us and now he's getting eaten" ?

― beanz (beanz), Wednesday, 24 November 2004 11:46 (twenty-one years ago)

Some guy paid I think eight billion dollars for the dolphin boat thing that featured in an Austin Powers film.

― Miss Kabocha (rumpypumpkin), Wednesday, 24 November 2004 11:46 (twenty-one years ago)

The dolphins were hoping to eat them themselves, until the boat came along.

― 3underscore (___), Wednesday, 24 November 2004 11:47 (twenty-one years ago)

You must be logged in to post. Please either login here, or if you are not registered, you may register here.