dolphin (Page 5)

Strange animal behavior has been on the rise, and now a podof dolphins, acting in an organized way, has saved a groupof swimmers from a great white shark.

The pod of dolphins circled the swimmers off the coast ofNew Zealand, herding them in a tight circle, then swimmingaround them. The swimmers soon noticed that there was agreat white shark outside the pod of dolphins, alsocircling, attempting to get through the dolphins to theswimmers.

The swimmers were an experienced lifesaving group swimming300 feet off the coast of New Zealand’s North Island, nearthe town of Whangarei. When one of them drifted away fromthe others, he saw a nine foot great white shark in thecrystal clear water, and realized that they were under attack.
read more

We’re not sure if water goes down the drain in ananticlockwise direction above the equator and in a clockwisedirection below it (or vice-versa), but scientists DO saythat dolphins in the northern hemisphere swim inanticlockwise circles, while dolphins in the southernhemisphere swim in clockwise circles.

Emma Marris writes in nature.com that dolphins swim in lazycircles as they nap, but they only sleep with one half oftheir brains at a time, so they can keep swimming as theysnooze.
read more

Seema Kumar, of Discovery Channel Online, writes that scientists have discovered that the genetic make-up of dolphins is amazingly similar to humans. They’re closer to us than cows, horses or pigs, despite the fact that they live in the water.

“The extent of the genetic similarity came as a real surprise to us,” says David Busbee of Texas A&M University. He hopes his research will reveal how long ago humans and dolphins branched off the evolutionary tree. There’s been some speculation that dolphins and whales, who breathe air, may have returned to the water after evolving into land animals.
read more

On March 26, we reported that the U.S. has imported specially trained dolphin recruits to Iraq to locate underwater mines. They now have their first dolphin defector, since one of them has gone AWOL. Takoma disappeared during his first military assignment.

Takoma and his partner Makai were videoed as they somersaulted over an inflatable dingy carrying their handlers. Their mission was to sweep the way clear for the arrival of the British ship Sir Galahad. Takoma never returned. His handler, Taylor Whitaker, says, “Why would they go missing when they have the best food and daily spruce-ups and health checks?”
read more