Most animals display some similarities.
Inquisitive behaviors don't always have to include or be related to people; dolphins can seem curious about their environment or other animals. During my research on both the Bahamian spotted dolphins and the bottlenose dolphins around Mikura, I catelogued inquisitive behaviors from other activities (e.g., social, forage) primarily to separate behaviors directed at humans, or related to human behavior, from other actions. Dolphins swimming swiftly around swimmers and in tight circles, apparent mimicry of human postures and movements, direct approaches to people, click vocalizations directed at people, and contact with swimmers are all examples of inquisitive behaviors recorded from both species of dolphin during my research. These actions may be a form of communication to people, but without knowing the proper context of dolphin behavior and actions, it is often difficult to assign a particular meaning to a specific action. This is one reason I study dolphin-dolphin interactions … an understanding of their interactive behavior and communication will ultimately provide us a foundation with which to examine our inter-species communications. More later this week. Cheers Kathleen P.S. several good sized earthquakes felt throughout the day, but so far Mt. Oyama has not erupted again.