According to the New Zealand Department of Conservation, the number of Hector’s dolphins found dead in 2007 has nearly doubled since 2006. The endangered Hector’s dolphin is one of the rarest dolphins in the world, with a population estimated at just 7,000 individuals. Twenty five animals were found dead in 2007, up from 15 in 2006. Although some of the deaths were confirmed as being from natural causes, it is likely that a number of individuals died after being accidentally caught in fishing nets. Before the introduction in the 1970’s of a particularly dangerous kind of fishing net known as the ‘set net’, there were as many as 26,000 Hector’s dolphins in New Zealand waters. Conservationists are calling for a total ban of set nets in order to stem the tide of dolphin deaths.
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Bush exempts US Navy from Coastal Zone Management Act
Bush signed an exemption to environmental laws for the US Navy on January 15th, which could allow the Navy to conduct training exercises off the coast of California using mid-frequency active sonar, a known threat to endangered marine mammals. After lobbying by conservationist, a federal court issued an injunction in early January requiring the Navy to create a 12-nautical-mile, no-sonar zone along the Southern California coast. The Navy is currently in a legal battle in federal court, seeking to lift the ban on the use of mid-frequency sonar which it claims is required to effectively train its soldiers to detect enemy submarines. Mid-frequency sonar has been linked to disturbance of whale and dolphin behavior, mass strandings and possibly even death caused by tissue damage for those animals exposed to the extremely loud sonar pings. The president’s exemption will not allow the Navy to by-pass the injunction, although it will strengthen their case in federal court.
For this week’s episode, I interview Dr. Lori Marino, senior lecturer in the Neuroscience and Behavioral Biology Program, at Emory University about Dolphin Assisted Therapy. Lori’s research focuses on brain and behavioral evolution in mammals, and she has written numerous scientific articles on dolphin cognition, dolphin behavior and dolphin intelligence. In addition, she has written a handful of articles discussing the pros and cons – mostly cons – of the highly controversial practice know as Dolphin Assisted Therapy.
If you’ve ever seen the Disney film Dumbo, you are likely familiar with Pink Elephants. But are there pink dolphins too? In fact, there are two species of dolphins that have pink colored skin. The Amazon River dolphin is famous for having pink colored skin, and is often called the Pink River Dolphin. But not all Amazon River dolphin have pink skin: the pink color accumulates slowly over time, and is the result of a buildup of scar tissues caused by fights with other dolphins. There is another dolphin famous for its pink complexion: the Indo Pacific Humpback dolphin. These dolphins live in the Indian and Pacific oceans, and not all populations have the same coloring. Some varieties are born pink, but become a darker grayish color as they get older. Some are born gray, but get more pink or even white as they get older, and some are nearly entirely white their entire lives. Of course any species of dolphin or whale could be born with albinism, a condition where they lack any color pigmentation in their skin. This will also result in pink-ish or white skin color, and has been observed in many species. Last year, a pink bottlenose dolphin was spotted in Louisiana, and there is a famous white humpback whale named Migaloo who lives off the coast of Australia. To see images of pink dolphins, visit thedolphinpod.com
Last show’s winners were Tito and Chiara who correctly stated that Risso’s dolphins get their white scratches from fights with other dolphins involving a whole lot of biting. Now, for this week’s quiz: of all the species of dolphins, whales and porpoise, which individual species (according to the latest scientific research) is known to the live the longest, and how old can they get? Think you know the answer? Surf on over to thedolphnipod.com and click on Dolphin Quiz – leave your answer in the comments section. Winners will randomly be chosen from the correct answers, and will be announced on next week’s show.
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Wrap-up:
That’s it for this week’s edition of The Dolphin Pod – thanks for tuning in. If you would like more information about the stories from this week’s episode, check out thedolphinpod.com. If you’ve got questions or comments about this week’s podcast episode, please contact us through the website. Why not consider signing up for the Dolphin Communication Project’s online community? You’ get access to a forum where you can discuss the The Dolphin Pod with other listeners. The DCP website offers a chance to adopt one of our dolphins from the Bahamas, as well as learn more about volunteer, internship and ecotour opportunities.
Don’t forget to join us next week for more dolphin science news and info. And remember, the dolphin pod is only a click away.
Last Updated on Friday, 01 February 2008 09:05
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