If you didn't already know: Dolphins are Fucking Amazing

[wolven7]

Found by pallandrome: "Scientists have long known that dolphins identify themselves with names, but the belief was that, like some monkeys, the animal's voice was the key ingredient of the call.

[. . .]

In nine of 14 cases, the dolphin would turn more often toward the speaker-- an established technique for gauging a dolphin's interest-- if it heard a [digitized] whistle resembling the name of a close relative.

Gary Numan - [Pressure]--- The mose intriguing thing, to me, abotu the whole thing? "A dolphin chooses its own name as an infant and uses it throughout its life."

So fucking awesome.

Goodnight.

Comments

[cailement.livejournal.com]

My third graders were highly amused, thanks :)

[wolven.livejournal.com]

Glad to hear it :)

dolphins keep it real

[momentai.livejournal.com]

"Their repertoire of calls probably numbers in the hundreds," Janik said. "Some of them are food calls, but for most of them we have no ideas what they're for."

What they are for is this:

"I wish these impertinet humans would stop coralling us up and barraging us with their obnoxious sonic devices everytime they get a new idea."
"So, true, so true. It really crinkles my blowhole."
"Why don't they just ask us what they want to know. It would much less rude."
"Yes, but since when have the humans been remotely civilized?"

Re: dolphins keep it real

[wolven.livejournal.com]

They speak mostly in verbs, you know? That's one of the things that makes them so awesome.

Re: dolphins keep it real

[momentai.livejournal.com]

No, I didn't know and that is amazing. Not only are they communicating directly, but doing so in a concise, semi-effiecient way.

Go, dolphins, go!

Re: dolphins keep it real

[wolven.livejournal.com]

Exactly. No wonder Douglas Addams credited them with so much, in his books.

[nausved.livejournal.com]

I get tired of people saying that humans are the only sapient animals.

[wolven.livejournal.com]

Yeah, i know. We'll learn, eventually, I'm pretty sure.

[pallandrome.livejournal.com]

frankly, they'd have a better chance of being considered sapient if they weren't so darned tasty. That being said, If I were a dolphin, I'd want to be named bob. bob the dolphin.

[wolven.livejournal.com]

Monkey brains are tasty.