Dolphins Use Tools

Originally posted by boogyman
This is slightly off topic but can you imagine if dolphins( and chimps for that matter) have culture. Traditions passed down for generations folklore even?

It seems they have at least one thing. They live in a totally different environment, have totally different lives, and have shorter lives than we do, so it's hard to compete. They've got a much shorter lifespan than us, not a lot to acquire and teach in that time period and to survive in a very dangerous and demanding world.

can you imagine what they could accomplish if they had hands?

Look at mankind.

Jestuh, I don't see how you're correcting me, exempt by providing definitions that don't disagree with me.

Everyone actually taking the time to go through the dolphin links........the autism/dolphin link is highly informative and leaves little doubt to the advanced nature of dolphin sociology.........FASCINATING!!!!!!!!!!!

Dallas, I have never heard the story about the Honey Bird until you mentioned it, but I have read up on it now.
www.birdnature.com...

I think it is an interesting point that the Dolphins that use these sponges as tools are female. It usually seems that the females posess these amazing skills in a couple of the water mammals. This is important because though a male Dolphin or Whale may learn and display these behaviors, the only one usually to pass it on to the next generation is the female. This is due to the raising of the new borns.

This female ingenuity is found in Orcas as well. It is most often the females that train the young Orcas in the pod. In addition it is always a female that leads the pod.

That was an interesting addition about the size of the brain of a Dolphin. It is true that a Dolphin brain is 20% larger than a humans. Dolphins share all of the same senses as humans except smell.

Humpback whales are also known to use a type of tool. Utilizing their air supplies they create what has been called a "bubble net" during feeding.
juneauempire.com...

[edit on 6/9/2005 by infinite8]

Humpback whales are also known to use a type of tool. Utilizing their air supplies they create what has been called a "bubble net" during feeding.

Yeah, Dolphins will also use a similar effect to catch fish. they will "slap" there tails very fast in the water to stun the fish and eat them at their leisure, rather than wasting energy trying to catch the little buggers.

Dolphins are bloody intelligent creatures. Same goes for Whales and the Primates.

Some Gorillas and Chimps have been taught to use sign language to great effect. You can actually have a conversation with these creatures, its wonderful.

Parasitism: One organism is harmed the other is benefited
Mutualism: Both organisms are benefiting
Commensalism: One organism is benefited the other is neither helped nor harmed

Welllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll OK. Commensalism is by defnition a form of symbiosis.. so says dictionary.com anyway

A symbiotic relationship in which one organism derives benefit and the other is unharmed.

Although its kinda like calling a square a rectangle. Yes, it's a rectangle, but it's really a square. I feel it's pushing the term as taking the whole picture into consideration, the two chums, sea man (uhhh huh huh huh huh) and spongebob aren't really in a "relationship"

sym·bi·o·sis
1. Biology. A close, prolonged association between two or more different organisms of different species that may, but does not necessarily, benefit each member.
2. A relationship of mutual benefit or dependence.

Just as I am not in a relationship with my hammer. I am in a relationship with the bacteria growing in my colon.. they like me and I like them, but I am not in a "prolonged association" with my coffee.

Originally posted by apc

Just as I am not in a relationship with my hammer. I am in a relationship with the bacteria growing in my colon.. they like me and I like them, but I am not in a "prolonged association" with my coffee.

well im in a prolonged association with my coffee at the moment 2:30 am here

read this old thread after looking for a link... and it got me thiking...

if dolphins did have our technology what would they build and make and research.. I reckon it wouldnt involve arms...guns

bet they would have pretty nifty fishing boats lol seriously though some amazing structures, technology (especially of the auditary and sound wave type) and inventions.

elf edit for quote

elf

[edit on 17-4-2007 by MischeviousElf]

Originally posted by Lady of the Lake
Monkeys use tools as well. They use stones to dig for food. They also for cracking seeds and for probing tree holes or rock crevices.

Yeah, but Monkeys smell. Dolphins are way cooler than our stinky, hairy counterparts.

Only a fool eats bananas ans ants....

Yep Bump


They also now are known to have speech similar to humans!

Dolphins Use Language Similar to Humans

Self recognition Tools, Complex Language, as Memory Shock, co operative behaviour, Compassion e.g. saving fishermen from sharks etc....

As Memory Shock said please please do look at the links I provided on Autism is fascinating.....The Chimpanzee talking is very interesting too...link on pg 1.

Everyone should deny ignorance before posting on Dolphins and Chimpanzees by informing themselves from those very very good sources....

Kind regards

Elf.

Not to go off topic, but crows also use tools. check it out.
www.youtube.com...

It is indeed interesting how animals adapt.
It reminds me of an old Nat'l Geographic where a tribe during the dry season would make a hole in a tree trunk and place small stones in there while insuring that a monkey (not sure on specific types) watched. The monkeys were known to have hidden water holes and never allowed any animal to follow them to it.
Anyways, the native would walk away, and the curious monkey eventually would go to the hole and reach in, grabb the pebbles causing it to make a fist that would be too big to extract from the hole.
The monkey would then freak out more or less trapped but never attempt to release what it clutched.
Then the native would walk up, leash the monkey and provide it a salt lick. After allowing the monkey to dehydrate from all the salt, it would be released. As thirsty as the monkey was, it wouldn't bother to see if it was followed to the monkeys hidden water supply and the native would follow it right to the water.

I thought that was ingenious. Man using a monkey as a tool to find water.

reply to post by imd12c4funn


Crows are quite clever indeed.

Yep I knew about the monkey trick, but only for catching the monkey as such for food and to train them, not the water hunting,

fascinating do you remember which Tribe continent/country?

Africa or Asia?

Back on topic I often wonder what dolphins would be capable of it they had opposable as such flippers lol.

I am sure they would create some quite amazing and advanced technology, would be the best DJ's in the world!!

They would make the coolest Fish tanks and headphones that even the wildest imagination and dreams of Einstein couldn't compare too.

Pretty good swimming pools and fishing rods to

Elf.

BUMP

news re reported today in thread here:Dolphins Use Sponge For Fishing(redirected converstaion to here)

and NEWS HERE:Times online/ Dolphins get nose for fishing with sponge tool

Kind regards,

Elf

Have any of you ever seen dolphins 'playing' with taurus or donut-shaped bubbles? Awesome.

www.youtube.com...

I watched a show about dolphins being trained to kill enemy divers with a nose-cone gun device. After a while the dolphins stopped obeying the commands and the program was shut down. Dolphins are amazingly smart and show they can collaborate with each other.

reply to post by Freezer


Could it be said then, that dolphins possess the ability to reason? If so, then what separates us is far less than we presently think.

reply to post by amb1063

ants getting drunk and taking slaves???

are they taken for SEX SLAVES??

No, Angie. Ants aren't into sex slavery. But dolphins are.

Male alliances typically "herd" females for anywhere from a few minutes to months These herding events are not usually enjoyed by the females. Herding is often forcible with escape events and violence involved. In a herding event males will surround the female or chase her. Aggression toward the female is common and can include: hitting with the tail, head-jerks, charging, biting, or body slamming. Should the female try to escape, which often happens, the males will chase her more often than not. Of course the ultimate goal of a herding event is sex and the males in the alliance will take turns to make sure everyone has an equal share. If the alliance has three members, only 2 will herd the female and the third will stay behind. However, the individual who is left behind changes with every herding event so again all members have an equal chance at mating.

On 3rd October 2003 a most dramatic incident occurred in which three larger dolphins, believed to be male, chased Dusty into the shallows where she was apparently taking refuge and forcibly took her out to sea with them. This was witnessed by observers both in the water (Ute and Jane) and on the shore and was concisely described to use by one local commentator as ‘Dusty was gang-banged’. That may sound over-dramatised, but during the late 1980’s researchers in Shark Bay, Western Australia, did indeed record the forcible abduction of female bottlenose dolphins in oestrus... Certainly this behaviour could be described as ‘gang rape’ if it took place within human society...

Source

See also

• Connor, R.C., Smolkert, R.A. and Richards, A.F: Two levels of alliance formation among male bottlenose dolphins, 1992, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 89:987-990
  
• Connor, R.C., Heithaus, M.R. and Barre, L.M: Complex social structure, alliance stability and mating access in a bottlenose dolphin 'super-alliance', 2001, London, Proceedings of the Royal Society B 268:263-267

Be warned that both links are to PDF file downloads.