Dolphin Research Paper

Some people argue that keeping orcas in captivity is not a problem, yet they do not realize some of the limitations and dangers orcas suffer when kept in captivity. One reason is that these unpredictable, thirty-foot long creatures are usually kept in a tank that is too small for them, compared to the ocean where they can swim freely. In captivity, space is limited. According to one expert, “orcas can swim up to 100 miles per day- a phenomenal amount, in comparison to the exercise they receive in captivity” (Cronin). While in captivity, an orca has to keep swimming in circles or float, unable to exercise adequately in a confined space. The small tanks also prevent orcas from living in their natural group sizes, or pods. “In the wild, killer whales typically travel in pods of between five and 30” (Melissa). In captivity, fewer than five whales are kept together, an imbalance that makes the whales more aggressive towards one another. This can lead to dangerous, territorial situations in which captive

Dolphins, and all marine mammals, are protected from harassment by federal law; under the Marine Mammal Protection Act. Harassment means “any act of pursuit or annoyance which has the potential to disturb the dolphins in the wild by causing disruption of their behavioral patterns of migration, nursing, breeding, sheltering, or resting and

Bottlenose dolphins are among the most familiar cetaceans, just as whales. The Bottlenose dolphin is a primitive member of the subfamily Delphinine. Bottlenose dolphins are grey, varying from dark grey at the top near the dorsal fin to very light grey and almost white at the underside. There are two ecotypes of bottlenose dolphins the coastal and the offshore. The Coastal dolphin has a small body and large flippers to increase agility and heat dissipation. They have a limited movement into offshore waters and like shallow warm water near the shore. Coastal dolphins for the most part remain in their region. The Offshore dolphin has a large body to help conserve heat and defend itself against predators. They are less restricted in range and movement and like deep, cold waters. Offshore dolphins in the North Atlantic have migratory patterns that follow prey distribution. Bottlenose dolphins live in groups typically of 10–30 members, called pods, but group size varies from single individuals up to more than 1,000. In a case study performed by Randall Wells who is the leader of the longest study of dolphin population since 1970, it was discovered that there are three main factors that influence migration: Seasonal changes in prey location, predation pressure and reproductive requirements. (Wells, 1980). In the fall dolphins follow mullet fish when they migrate from the bays into the Gulf of Mexico to spawn. Dolphins experience the most predation pressure during the summer when

Bottlenose dolphins are extremely over protective. They are protective of their children, of humans, and of other dolphins.

Dolphins have been around a lot longer than humans. They originated about 50 million years ago. The most common dolphin, being the bottlenose dolphin, has been around for 15 million years. Surprisingly, dolphins originated from members of the cetaceans group. Cetaceans used to be land mammals but evolved into being aquatic mammals. In From Land to Water it stated, “The transition from land to water is documented by a series of intermediate fossils from India and Pakistan.” This research helps prove how they used to be land mammals but evolved to live in the ocean. Dolphins are one out of many aquatic mammals who need oxygen, but they need water in order to live. Believe it or not, dolphins are somewhat related to hippos, camels, deer, cattle, and giraffes. In From Land to Water, “ Many features that are

Dolphins are intelligent creatures that could be one of the only animals in the world that have similar intelligence to us Homo sapiens. Dolphins are also self-aware as seen in the movie “The Cove”. When the Dolphins were taken into the Cove with large honking sounds the immediately noticed it was a trap and tried to escape. The methods of killing dolphins are just horrendous and spine-chilling to think of. Dolphin fishing consists of fishermen using long acute poles and stabbing them into these Porpoises. Who do you think keeps the fish population down other than the Sharks and other Predators dolphins? Dolphins of course! This Exquisite creature can save humans and help to keep fish from overpopulating and affecting our society. This aquatic animal is just a wonderful creatures and killing them is ruthless and painful to even think

Scientists have noticed that these creatures of the ocean can actually communicate with each other and form thoughts. As people are doing research and tests on the animals they have noticed that the dolphins try to communicate and play with the humans as well. However, this has been ignored for some time. Dolphins held in captivity are taught commands through American sign language which the dolphins learn quickly and fairly easily. Although dolphins can comprehend the sign language with ease, the lack of hands makes it impossible for dolphins to communicate back with researchers. Dolphins are more acoustic animals, meaning they have a very strong sense of hearing and are very sensitive to sound. Because of this, dolphins communicate with one another through sonar waves. These unique qualities show that these animals are not meant to be locked and kept away from their natural habitat or killed for no real

Bottlenose Dolphins By: Eve Lingard & Lilly Peebles Period 4- O'brien & Period 1- Prosser Mount Baker Middle School June 1, 2017 Abstract

The Vancouver Aquarium houses dolphins and belugas, animals that undoubtedly experience various elements of life. Belugas and dolphins are able to communicate, can experience pain, are conscious, can make connections and develop relationships. We can assume that the animals were forced to live in a small surrounding and in isolation, which in turn could affect their emotional, physical, and psychological state. They are removed from their natural habitat, separated from the rest of their species, exploited, and deprived of their freedom. Being in captivity, the belugas and dolphins are not allowed to breed naturally and thus have limited sexual activity (Vancouver Aquarium). We can also assume that the well being of an animal or a living thing should not be compromised for the sake of frivolous endeavours such as entertainment and generating financial gains.

The first is that the human activities of dolphin shows, dolphinariums, and fishing, are in fact encouraging the hunting of dolphins. In 1980, the promotion of the Flipper TV series created this multi-billion-dollar industry since people started to enjoy the entertainment brought by dolphins. Maintaining this industry, people keep them in captive exhibits. Under these conditions, dolphins become stressed easily. To keep them from getting ulcers, trainers feed them with bottles of Maalox and Tagamet.

Dolphins are commonly seen in aquariums, sea parks, TV shows, and movies, the bottlenose dolphin is a wildly recognizable cetacean (marine mammal). In the wild, bottlenose dolphins inhabit the temperate and tropical oceans around the world with coastal populations entering into bays, estuaries, and river mouths. Like the name “bottlenose” suggests, this species of dolphin has a short, stubby beak. Its sleek, conical body varies in color from a light to slate

From the capturing process, to the living and training spaces, to the continuously forced performances they are required to do daily, these animals face an uncounted for amount of stress. The capturing process allows men to heard groups of dolphins together and trap them into small coves with nets and boats, then hand picking the wanted ones and dragging them away to never see open waters again. Project Orangutan talks about the capturing and the stress it inflicts on these animals, “.. during the capturing process itself as they get entangled in nets and suffocate, others may die from stress.” Not only do these animals recognize the loss of movement but the death of their friends around them. If the stress of being taken away from their home wasn't enough, they are then forced to live in concrete cells with no sound reflection. To us that seems fine but when your strongest sense is hearing and string enough to detect the difference between a ping pong ball and golf ball, the constant screaming and splashing of water around you begins to take a toll. Dolphins use a type of sound detection called echolocation, which can be damaged through time by the living conditions of dolphinariums. Dolphinproject.com talks about the lessening of sounds and vocalization of these animals in captivity, “This reduction in vocalizations is due in part to the effect of the echo caused by the walls of the pools where dolphins are defined.” The high noise frequency surround them for hours a day accompanied by the loss of socialization through their echolocation causes then even more stress and sadness. This alone can lead to one of these animals dying involuntarily, or even at their doing. Those who may think dolphins are only animals who will later forget about the process of being captured or that don't recognize the sounds

Dolphins usually live in oceans or seas in Florida, North America, the Bahamas and a lot of other places. Dolphins live in the rivers of Asia, India and South America. Some Dolphins live in Zoos and allot of dolphins live performing dolphin shows. Dolphins’ usual habitat is the ocean. Unfortunately, the oceans are becoming dirty with pollution. Dolphins sleep under water, and half of their brain sleeps while the other half watches out for dangerous creatures or people. Dolphins usually live in hot places. When it is cold dolphins migrate to other oceans. They live in all the world’s

It is known that the Dolphin and the Whale both have almost a mystical friendliness about them. Dolphins can help treat people with anything ranging from a learning disability to a nerve injury (Goodstein). Both Dolphins and Whales are highly intelligent creatures and yet while we can communicate with them through words or a modified sign language, we still don’t know how their brain works (Goodstein). Dolphins can do a lot of good for a lot of people, but are they really happy living in a facility? The Dolphins and Whales are at the top of the food chain, they both play an important role in the water and their habitat, and yet they are endangered. There are so many ways you can help save them, it’s all about the little things that can make a big difference.

The so-called ‘fisherman’ (a select few) work in unison with wildlife park trainers who would inspect the dolphins personally and chose the one’s that are ‘pretty’ and are able to follow given directions for certain tricks to live their lives in captivity. Which subsequently is just as much as the same fate as their fellow porpoises. The hunters use specific ‘equipment’ when dealing with these animals, banger poles are used to strike against the boat to drive the