Mirror Turns Dolphins Into Total Hams (with video)

Here is some footage I really enjoy.

Bubble Rings

Originally posted by -W1LL
few questions about your post. what is the mirror Test? and what is its conclusion.?

dolphins are sharks natural enemies dolphins will usually win in a right they ram the sharks ribs/gills with their nose and collapse lungs dolphins kick ass.

dolphins can and do jump over nets I have seen them go under fishing nets stealing fish. most other animals can do this? what animals?

I believe that the mirror test is along the lines of the experiment that they conducted on the elephant in the OP's video.

They mark the animal's head, put them in front of a mirror, and if the animal moves to touch the mark on their head then it supposedly shows that they are self-aware. Or at least shows that they know that it's a reflection, rather than another animal.


Dolphins may well get the better of sharks more often than not, but it still doesn't alter the fact that saving a human from the shark's clutches is an example of rather unintelligent behaviour.

Firstly, they may needlessly injure themselves while battling off the shark, and secondly, they have absolutely no idea of the human's intentions towards them. If the human is out there to kill, capture or exploit the dolphin, then protecting the potential predator is hardly particularly bright behaviour.


Dolphins can jump over nets, and that is precisely the point; they don't always do so. In Japan, when they are herded into the cove, the fishermen put nets up and pen the dolphins in overnight. It is very rare for the dolphins to attempt to go over or under these nets, despite being perfectly capable of doing so.

This is what suggests to me, a lack of intelligence in this area. They obviously aren't carrying a logical thought process of: I'm trapped in - I have the ability to jump - if I use this ability and jump the net, then I'm not trapped.

When I say ''most other animals can do this'' - I mean that most other animals have the ability to escape captivity if there is an easily obtainable method of escape.

Squirrels, for example, have all sorts of innovative, creative and ingenuous ways of getting from A to B, even if there are many obstacles in the way.

It wouldn't take long for a human with absolutely no knowledge, to be able to find his way out of a room with unlocked doors.

reply to post by tetsuo


It's because the dolphin has no knowledge of whether the human has harmful intentions towards it or not.

Fighting off one potential predator to free up another doesn't seem like a particularly bright thing to do, when there's the easy alternative of staying away from the conflict.


It would be sheer stupidity for a human to intervene in a hypothetical attack of a lion on a tiger. If he manages to fight off the lion, then there is absolutely no guarantee that the tiger won't then proceed to attack him.

reply to post by Equinox99


I'm talking about when they have an opportunity to jump over or swim under a net. They don't always do this, which indicates a certain lack of creativity. logic and ingenuity.

All sorts of other animals find ingenuous ways to make an escape when they are trapped.

Originally posted by Flatfish
S&F from me. Dolphins and whales are very unique species who's intelligence should be recognized and studied.

As a commercial flounder fisherman, I routinely have close encounters with bottle nose dolphins when they use my floundering lights to teach their young how to catch fish at night. The adults quite often come up and roll their heads over to get a good look at me before they bring their young into feed and you get the feeling that they somehow sense that it's safe to do so. When they bring their young in close, I can watch as the mother nudges the young dolphin to enter the light and catch their own food. Quite an amazing animal, to say the least.

This is a really neat story. Thanks for sharing, made my day.

I just have to say this. THEY ARE SOOO CUTE!!!!!!!!

But that said, I'd say that it seems to me that dolphins might be more spiritually evolved than humans. I mean, they certainly know how to have a good time! But really, if you could be a dolphin and be happy and play all day, wouldn't you?

Dolphins = people of the sea

Do be careful (ladies) when swimming with them...they have been known to get quite...interested...in you. and things could go from fun and frolic to a pretty unnerving experience

There are cases of wild male dolphins killing men out of jealousy..

Male dolphins definitely prefer human females. In fact, a recent incident at a Sao Paulo, Brazil, beach reveals an antagonism toward human males. A wild, resident male dolphin, noted for his friendliness toward women swimmers, attacked two human males, who were evidently considered to be romantic competitors. One of the men died from internal hemorrhaging after being butted by the dolphin. The other man received a broken rib.

So yup...Dolphins are just like people in more ways than just one.

Dolphins are also not overly friendly to their other sea brothers and sisters

Growing evidence shows that the big animals, up to 12 feet long, are killing fellow mammals in droves, wielding their beaks as clubs and slashing away with rows of sharp teeth. Dolphins have been found to bludgeon porpoises to death by the hundreds. Unlike most animal killers, which eat their prey, dolphins seem to have murderous urges unrelated to the need for food.

They have even been observed in recurring acts of infanticide.

Off Scotland, a scientist watched in shock for nearly an hour as an adult dolphin repeatedly picked up a baby in its mouth and smacked it against the water, over and over, until it sank from view.

Off Virginia, researchers found at least nine baby dolphins killed, their ribs broken, their skulls and vertebrae smashed. One small body bore puncture marks matching the pattern of adult dolphin teeth.

"We have such a benign image of dolphins," said Dr. Dale J. Dunn, a veterinary pathologist at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology in Washington, who aided the Virginia study. "So finding evidence of violence is disturbing."

Its wildlife...and like any other wildlife, there are wild streaks in the animal. I personally would love to spend time with dolphins...however, I would not be dropping my guard simply because they appear to be smiling.

the joker from batman also appeared to be smiling

dolphins might be more spiritually evolved than humans.

I would agree...they have yet to tell me how I am going to hell, or try and sell me some religion...that to me shows they are far more evolved than most of the twats that interrupt my sundays

reply to post by Sherlock Holmes


Let me ask you something. Have you ever had a net thrown at you? It is easier for us to get out because we have hands, they have fins. It would be physically impossible to escape nets without hands. The net will catch their fins, which they have 2 arms, one up top, and 2 on the arse.

Secondly, those nets are designed with material that is hard to see in the water. So seeing would be pretty hard, IMO.

reply to post by Sherlock Holmes


Dolphins can't use hands and feet and they can't climb so why are you comparing dolphins with animals like squirrels? If you had no hands and you randomly and accidently swam into a net, how well do you think you'd be able to escape the net? Also, sometimes even humans do stupid things when they're afraid or when something unexpected happens. Dolphins may be unintelligent in certain areas like you said but so is every other animal on this earth, including humans. There's people I know that are brilliant at solving math problems but almost retarded when it comes to understanding people. I for one am very interested in these mirror experiments. I don't think it would make dolphins any more or less important if they were proved to be self aware or more intelligent than we once thought. Dolphins are obviously pretty intelligent. The question is how intelligent? I think if they were on land instead of in water and evolved with hands and feet we would be amazed at what they could do.

reply to post by LadySkadi


Thanks for posting that interesting video.
I thought it was neat how one of the Dolphins postured itself upright in front of the glass, sort of like how a human would go stand in the mirror to have a look.

A dolphin simply has the capacity to sonically vibrate off of the DNA of a human being who may be swimming next to it. They pick up the frequency signal that is being transmitted by our DNA. They can sense the blockages in the frequencies transmitting through our DNA and water within our DNA. As with any miraculous healing, the dolphins can use the power of love to ultra-sonically treat those deficiencies and blockages so that the Creator’s energies can begin to flow once again

The word dolphin means brother. There’s no doubt in my mind that they are our brothers in some way and that we can learn from them

Please Read this Link

Another very interesting article:

Scientists say dolphins should be treated as "non-human persons"

“The scientific research . . . suggests that dolphins are ‘non-human persons’ who qualify for moral standing as individuals,” he said.

What Marino and her colleagues found was that the cerebral cortex and neocortex of bottlenose dolphins were so large that “the anatomical ratios that assess cognitive capacity place it second only to the human brain”. They also found that the brain cortex of dolphins such as the bottlenose had the same convoluted folds that are strongly linked with human intelligence.

Never look at yourself in the mirror making funny faces? I do that as often as I can. Looks like they enjoy making funny faces too.

They are such amazing creatures!

They are more intelligent than us... Why would they feel the need to create technology or any other contraption to make their lives easier when they have everything they need in the ocean!

That is our downfall!

We are so used to our little perfect world inside a world that we have lost all our natural instincts... Ask a child where meat comes from and my point will be proven!

reply to post by Equinox99


I'm not talking about getting entangled in fishing nets; that is not really their fault.

I'm talking about when they are trapped in by nets, but do not jump over them. This happens in the wild, such as the cove in Japan, and also in captivity, where they don't tend to jump out of their own pool.

Originally posted by davespanners
These are my own two personal "Dolphins" It's really hard to get a picture of them as they never stop darting around

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/3c564a0cb098.jpg[/atsimg]

Even these guys are WAY more intelligent then I assumed when I got them, they do a little "I'm hungry" dance when it's their feeding time, and if I change anything in the tank they will go straight over and find how many ways they can swim in and out of /around / under it.
They also recognise me, they won't do their hungry dance for strangers

My daughter had guppies for a while, and, like you, discovered that they were much more intelligent than she'd expected.

When oe died and the other was left alone it started wanting much more attention, and it seemed to be lonely. When it swam to the surface whenever my daughter went near it she felt it wanted something from her, so very gently she tried touching it. It repeatedly rubbed itself against her finger, and from then on she had to stroke it every day. It really seemed to be wanted affection, not just itchy.

Originally posted by ShnogTrip
Dolphins can't use hands and feet and they can't climb so why are you comparing dolphins with animals like squirrels? If you had no hands and you randomly and accidently swam into a net, how well do you think you'd be able to escape the net?

Hands and feet aren't relevant to my point.

The point is that dolphins have the physical capability of jumping over nets, but they don't tend to utilise it.

Squirrels, for example, appear to be aware of their capabilities, and often use these to excellent effect when they are in a sticky situation, like outwitting a cat or stealing food from somewhere that's supposed to be ''squirrel proof''.

I was just using them as an example of an animal that seems to be rather intelligent, yet aren't as ''glamorous'' as dolphins.

Originally posted by ShnogTrip
Also, sometimes even humans do stupid things when they're afraid or when something unexpected happens. Dolphins may be unintelligent in certain areas like you said but so is every other animal on this earth, including humans. There's people I know that are brilliant at solving math problems but almost retarded when it comes to understanding people.

Well, I don't think that humans are that intelligent.
In fact, come to my city on a Friday or Saturday night, and this point can be demonstrably shown to be true.

You are echoing my point, that intelligence is not one finite concept, but a combination of an enormous amount of different factors.

This is why intelligence is almost impossible to quantify in humans, yet alone in other animals.

I'm just pointing out that while experiments such as the mirror test may show animals to be self-aware, it only suggests a degree of intelligence in this particular aspect of overall intelligence.

Originally posted by ShnogTrip
I for one am very interested in these mirror experiments. I don't think it would make dolphins any more or less important if they were proved to be self aware or more intelligent than we once thought. Dolphins are obviously pretty intelligent. The question is how intelligent? I think if they were on land instead of in water and evolved with hands and feet we would be amazed at what they could do.

I think that all animals must have a certain degree of intelligence, to have survived this long.

The problem with dolphin intelligence, is that people seem to think that they are more intelligent because they exhibit some human type behaviour ( like monkeys and apes ).

Some of their behaviour is reminiscent of human children ( such as pratting around in front of a mirror ), which some people seem to find ''cute'' and endearing, and leads these people to form a biased view on the extent of dolphin intelligence, which tend to be based on a lot of wishful thinking.

I think that dolphins do display a lot of intelligent behaviour, but they have their fair share of stupid behaviour which I've pointed out, and I usually form my views on animals, on an objective basis, rather than how ''cute'' I find an animal.

I am very much against people who are only selectively interested in animal welfare, only when the animal is aesthetically pleasing to the person in question. And dolphins seem to bring out this behaviour more than most.


I believe that dolphins should be treated the same as any other animal, regardless of any intelligence or stupidity they may or may not display.

reply to post by LadySkadi


Those scientists suggesting this are falling into the trap of judging anthropomorphically.

We know that just about all mammals display intelligence and have emotions, so dolphins shouldn't be treated any differently if they appear to have slightly more similar brain structures to humans.

An animal' apparent intelligence, or lack of intelligence, shouldn't be a relevant factor in how they are treated.


However, the scientists are right that dolphins shouldn't be kept in captivity or for the amusement and entertainment of humans.