[Disgruntled Head of C-3PO]

Awesome stuff:

http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/asiapc...eut/index.html

[d4nth3m4n]

(* feet)

cmon now, we're not that stupid, are we?

[phoenixboy70]

[Randman]

That's cool, though I've read of stuff like that happening before. Once had the chance to do a swim with dolphins and interact with them. Easily one of the coolest things I've ever experienced.

[MilkmanDan]

If Dolphins are so smart, then why do they keep getting caught in nets?

[voodoo]

"Shark saves swimmer from dolphin"

- now *that's* a headline!!

[Cipher13]

While it has been suggested that during the process of giving birth, several dolphins may surround the female in question if sharks are present (attracted by the blood released while giving birth), the almost universally accepted notion that dolphins attack and drive away sharks is almost complete garbage. Unfortunately, I can't find any sources to back this up (as I said, almost universally accepted), but currently unpublished research data strongly suggests otherwise... and not just within one population of dolphins.

But without proof, I must digress.

[Randman]

Originally posted by Cipher13:
Unfortunately, I can't find any sources to back this up (as I said, almost universally accepted), but currently unpublished research data strongly suggests otherwise... and not just within one population of dolphins.

Unpublished research data? In other words, there's no proof to back up your comment?
But you can find enough evidence to make a solid claim that there have been times when a dolphin pod has attacked a shark and times when humans have been rescued by a dolphin.
While not every dolphin or pod might do this, at least a few have.

[Xeo]

Originally posted by d4nth3m4n:
cmon now, we're not that stupid, are we?

Most Americans are.

[Randman]

Originally posted by d4nth3m4n:
cmon now, we're not that stupid, are we?

Most people are.

... But, tt's standard journalism style for many newspapers and wire services as the story originated in Asia, hence the use of metrics. If the story came from Hawaii, for instance, and was run on an Aussie news service, it might be the other way around and read 300 ft (100m).

[Apple Pro Underwear]

If you believe in the story - their actions were not guided by instinct.

Do you suppose they understand morality and that they helped simply because they could?

[Randman]

Originally posted by Apple Pro Underwear:
If you believe in the story - their actions were not guided by instinct.

Do you suppose they understand morality and that they helped simply because they could?

I think it might have been instinct. I do know they are very intelligent creatures. When I did the swim, I was able to them and even touch one of the dolphin's tongue. The dolphin, a youngster, was pretty cool. But when my g/f, who was a little scared, tried to do the same, the dolphin closed its mouth a little, like it was going to clamp down on her hand.
My g/f shrieked and pulled her hand back real quick. The dolphin opened its mouth again and when my g/f tried to touch it again, it did the same thing. When she shrieked a second time, the dolphin shimmied a little, flapped its flippers and gave a whistle.
I swear it was getting a laugh out of the whole thing (I was laughing next to my g/f in the water). The third time, the dolphin just kept its mouth open and my g/f touched its tongue. After my g/f pulled her hand back, much slower this time, the dolphin whistled but didn't flip. I tried it again after and the dolphin was as still as the first time. No shimmy or whistle or anything.
So maybe it's instinct or conditioning or something, or else they could just be smarter than we know.

As Douglas Adams once wrote: Mankind thought it was the smartest race on Earth because it invented money and wars and digital watches. But the dolphins thought they were the smartest creatures on the planet because they didn't invent money and wars and digital watches.

[i_rooster]

That shark was probably vegetarian and was instructing the dolphins and protecting the humans from another more evil ominihorus shark that was in the vicinitic.

[Disgruntled Head of C-3PO]

Originally posted by Xeo:
Most Americans are.

No no, just 52%

[mixin visuals]

that is amazing, i wonder why the dolphins would actually look out for the people

[Sherwin]

There was a story last year here in the U.E.S.R...

A dog fell into the sea. Friendly dolphin saw the dog floundering, positioned itself underneath and nudged it over a little sea wall back onto dry land. Some guy caught it on video and it was all over the news.

Dolphins rock.

[voodoo]

Unified Energy System of Russia?

[Severed Hand of Skywalker]

Originally posted by Sherwin:
There was a story last year here in the U.E.S.R...

A dog fell into the sea. Friendly dolphin saw the dog floundering, positioned itself underneath and nudged it over a little sea wall back onto dry land. Some guy caught it on video and it was all over the news.

Dolphins rock.

Got a link to the video?

[d4nth3m4n]

WEEEEEEEEEEEE!

[Randman]

Originally posted by Sherwin:
There was a story last year here in the U.E.S.R...

A dog fell into the sea. Friendly dolphin saw the dog floundering, positioned itself underneath and nudged it over a little sea wall back onto dry land. Some guy caught it on video and it was all over the news.

Dolphins rock.

I remember that. It made the news rounds on stuff like ananova and drudge.

[Sherwin]

Originally posted by Severed Hand of Skywalker:
Got a link to the video?

Unfortunately not. TV doesn't provide hyperlinks yet.

[Sherwin]

Originally posted by voodoo:
Unified Energy System of Russia?

Union of European Socialist Republics?