Dolphins see themselves in mirror

[AngelArmy]

YBYU1eayaXs

Happy Friday :D

[pyriel]

old video but very amusing to watch them.

[AngelArmy]

old video but very amusing to watch them.

Just something to lift the energy :)

[Tesla_WTC_Solution]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spindle_neurons


Spindle neurons, also called von Economo neurons (VENs), are a specific class of neurons that are characterized by a large spindle-shaped soma, gradually tapering into a single apical axon in one direction, with only a single dendrite facing opposite. Whereas other types of cells tend to have many dendrites, the polar shaped morphology of spindle neurons is unique. They are found in two very restricted regions in the brains of hominids – the family of species comprising humans and other great apes – the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and the fronto-insular cortex (FI). Recently they have been discovered in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex of humans.[1] Spindle cells are also found in the brains of the humpback whales, fin whales, killer whales, sperm whales,[2][3] bottlenose dolphin, Risso’s dolphin, beluga whales,[4] and the African and Asian elephants.[5] The name von Economo neuron comes from their discoverer, Constantin von Economo (1876–1931) who described them in 1929.[6]


Related pathologies[edit]
Abnormal spindle neuron development may be linked to several psychotic disorders, typically those characterized by distortions of reality, disturbances of thought, disturbances of language, and withdrawal from social contact. Altered spindle neuron states have been implicated in both schizophrenia and autism, but research into these correlations remains at a very early stage. An initial study suggested that Alzheimer's disease specifically targeted Von Economo neurons, however, this study was performed with end-stage Alzheimer brains in which cell destruction was widespread. Later, it was found that Alzheimer's disease doesn't affect the VENS, but behavioral variant frontotemporal lobe degeneration specifically targets these cell populations in the anterior cingulate cortex and the anterior insula early in the disease.


http://news.discovery.com/animals/dolphin-intelligence-explained.htm

If human standards for intelligence are applied to non-human animals, however, dolphins come very close to our own brain aptitude levels, suggests Emory University dolphin expert Lori Marino.

She's performed MRI scans of dolphin brains. The scans prove dolphin brains are:

big, relative to body size
intricate, with a neocortex "more highly convoluted than our own"
structured to allow for self-awareness and the processing of what Marino calls "complex emotions"
All animals share the capacity for emotions, she explained, but the part of the dolphin brain associated with processing emotional information is particularly expanded.

Why then did dolphins evolve to become so brainy?

Marino and her colleagues have analyzed modern dolphins and remains of ancient marine mammals to help answer that question.

The first jump in brain size happened 39 million years ago, when odontocetes (members of an order that includes dolphins, toothed whales, sperm whales, beaked whales and porpoises) diverged from their ancestral Archaeoceti group. When this split occurred, body sizes for some decreased and brain sizes increased, especially in the ancestors of modern dolphins. This coincided with the emergence of echolocation, so improved communication skills likely were tied to the brain size boost.

Fifteen million years ago yet another brain growth spurt happened. Marino and her colleagues speculate that changes in social ecology—essentially the dolphin's social lifestyle—probably contributed to the process. For example, the more a dolphin needed to communicate, benefiting its survival, the more its brain evolved to permit that interaction.

Moving to the present, dolphins have brains that are about "five times larger for their body size when compared to another animal of similar size," Marino said. "In humans, the measure is seven times larger—not a huge difference."

She concluded, "Essentially, the brains of primates and cetaceans arrived at the same cognitive space while evolving along quite different paths."

As a footnote to the above, it's important to remember that killer whales, also known as orcas, are actually the largest members of the dolphin family. Since this piece first ran, killer whales have been scrutinized due to a killer whale attack at SeaWorld. Trainer Dawn Brancheau died in the incident, which is still under investigation.

Lori Marino recently commented on the death, telling the Los Angeles Times: "I'm not trying to second-guess what was in this particular whale's mind. But, certainly, if we are talking about whether killer whales have the wherewithal and the cognitive capacity to intentionally strike out at someone, or to be angry, or to really know what they are doing, I would have to say the answer is yes."

http://www.dolphins-world.com/dolphins-rescuing-humans/


Dolphin Heroes
In Greek stories and old sea stories, there are dozens of claims of dolphins helping drowning sailors, rescuing people from sharks, and making themselves useful as guides through treacherous waters. The “treacherous waters” guiding can be ascribed to the dolphin’s needing a similar water depth as many boats.

Dolphins and other cetaceans also help injured members of their family groups and newborn babies to the surface by swimming under them and nudging upward, just as some reports describe them doing with humans. Interestingly, there are some real reports of dolphins helping other cetaceans. In 1983 at Tokerau Beach, North-land, New Zealand, a pod of pilot whales ran aground during ebb-tide. The Zealanders who lived there came out and did their best to keep the whales alive, sponging their skin and calming them, until the tide came back in. But even then the whales were having trouble orienting.

Dolphins came to the rescue. Somehow, a pod of dolphins who were nearby figured out what was happening. They swam into the shallows, putting themselves at risk, and “herded” the pilot whales out to sea, saving 76 of 80 whales. Five years earlier, a similar incident had occurred at Whangarei harbor. If dolphins are smart enough and helpful enough to save other cetaceans in that manner, why not humans.


Real-Life Cases: Dolphins Saving Humans

You’ve seen it in Flipper and other popular culture stories; dolphins rescuing humans from drowning or sharks, keeping them safe from harm. But does it really happen? The answer is, surprisingly often.

Several years ago, in the Gulf of Akaba, a British tourist was rescued by three dolphins from sharks. Near the Sinai Peninsula, a ship captain had stopped his boat so several passengers could watch dolphins playing. Three of the passengers decided to swim with them, and one stayed a little longer than the others. To his horror, he was bitten by a shark – and more were coming. Suddenly, three dolphins placed themselves between the tourist and the sharks, smacking the water with tails and flippers, and drove the sharks off so the man could be rescued.

In 2004, a group of swimmers were confronted by a ten-foot great white shark off the northern coast of new Zealand. A pod of dolphins “herded” them together, circling them until the great white fled. There are several other examples from the area of Australia of similar incidences.

In another case in the Red Sea, twelve divers who were lost for thirteen and a half hours were surrounded by dolphins for the entire time, repelling the many sharks that live in the area. When a rescue boat showed up, it appeared that the dolphin pod were showing them where the divers were; they leaped up in the air in front of the rescuers, jumping toward the lost people as if to lead the boat onward – as, according to old stories, they often did with endangered ships in treacherous water.

Because we can’t talk to dolphins, we can’t really fathom what their motives are in these situations. It is, however, very possible that they are indeed trying to help and protect fellow mammals in the ocean to safety. If this is true, it means that they are the only animals, besides humans, which show true altruism.

http://www.savethewhales.org/Dolphins_Rescuing_Humans.html


Dolphins Rescuing Humans

We often read in the news about humans rescuing stranded, entangled, sick, or injured whales and dolphins, but did you know that these animals do their fair share of lifesaving too?

Dolphins & Whales Saving People
Ancient Greek historian Plutarch wrote: "To the dolphin alone, beyond all others, nature has given what the best philosophers seek; friendship for no advantage. Though it has no need of man, yet it is a friend to all men and has often given them great aid."

Beluga whale saves diver
2009 – China
During a freediving competition in the arctic tank at an aquarium in China, a distressed diver is guided to the surface by Mila the beluga whale, saving her life.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/5931345/Beluga-whale-saves-diver.html

Dolphins save Puerto Princesa fisherman
2008 – Philippines
A pod of dolphins, and possibly even pilot whales, save a local fisherman from drowning after his small boat overturns during a squall. Making the story even more unique, the fisherman is also an official dolphin warden who promotes dolphin and whale shark watching as a tourist attraction in his town.
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/regions/view/20081216-178325/Dolphins-save-P

Dolphins save surfer from becoming shark’s bait
2007 – California
A pod of bottlenose dolphins form a protective ring around a surfer that had just been severely mauled by a great white shark allowing him to get to shore, saving his life.
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/21689083/ns/today-today_people/

Did dolphins save injured diver? Rescued diver tells of epic 56-hour struggle to survive
2006 – Channel Islands (England/France)
Dolphins draw rescuers’ attention to a lone scuba diver knocked unconscious after being hit by a boat, saving his life.
http://www.underwatertimes.com/news.php?article_id=51079184603

Dolphins save boaters in 2004 tsunami
2004 – Thailand
Chris Cruz, a scuba diving instructor and trip leader was out at sea, just off of Khao Lak, north of Phuket in Thailand, with diving crews when the tsunami hit. He says he was saved because he followed dolphins to safety.
http://www.hawaiidolphinretreat.com/DolphinsTsunami.html

Dolphins save swimmers from shark
2004 – New Zealand
Dolphins surround a group of swimmers protecting them from a nearby great white shark, preventing an attack.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2004/11/24/dolphin_newzealand041124.html

Dolphins led rescue boat to us, say divers lost in Red Sea
2004 – Red Sea
Thirteen divers lost at sea for 13½ hours believe that dolphins led the rescue boat to them.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1469049/Dolphins-led-rescue-boat-to-us-say-divers-lost-in-Red-Sea.html

‘Dolphins saved me from sharks’
2002 – Australia
A fisherman stranded in the ocean for over 40 hours after his boat sank is saved from a potential shark attack by a pod of dolphins.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/2145887.stm

Elian says dolphins saved his life
2000 – Florida/Cuba
Elian Gonzalez, the Cuban boy that was at the center of an international custody dispute, says dolphins saved his life by helping him stay above water and cling to an inner tube after the boat he was travelling in sank.
http://www.iol.co.za/news/world/elian-says-dolphins-saved-his-life-1.33676

Dolphin saves boy’s life
2000 – Italy
Filippo the friendly dolphin saves a 14 year-old boy from drowning after he falls off of his father’s boat.
http://www.eurocbc.org/page158.html

Three dolphins rescue tourist from sharks
1996 - Gulf of Akaba
A British tourist is shielded by a group of dolphins during a shark attack.
http://www.jweekly.com/article/full/3738/three-dolphins-rescue-tourist-from-sharks/

Dolphins to the rescue -- again!
1983 – New Zealand
A pod of dolphins guides 76 stranded pilot whales back out to sea after rescue attempts by humans fail.
http://www.science-frontiers.com/sf035/sf035p09.htm

Dolphins to the rescue
1978 – New Zealand
In Whangarei Harbour in New Zealand in 1978, fifty pilot whales attempted to beach themselves. Government officials tried to encourage the whales back into the sea but unfortunately failed. The officials went out on speedboats and guided a passing group of dolphins back into the harbour. When they arrived, the dolphins seemed to see the plight the whales were in and guided the whales toward open water.
http://www.oocities.org/magdalena_babblejack/OceanTrivia.html

Dick Van Dyke: Pod of porpoises saved me from death after I fell asleep on my surfboard
Date not specified – Virginia
As a youth, actor Dick Van Dyke was rescued by porpoises after falling asleep on his surfboard and drifting out to sea. At first he thought he was surrounded by sharks, but they turned out to be porpoises, and they pushed him all the way back to shore.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1328806/Dick-Van-Dyke-Pod-porpoises-saved-I-fell-asleep-surfboard.html

Dolphins saved my life
Date not specified – South Carolina
A young girl was taken for the ride of her life on the back of a dolphin, keeping her away from a nearby shark.
http://www.kajama.com/index.php?file=articledetail&id=A891430A-F3F1-40C7-A79C-EB3B3CD5B29D&PageNum=1

Saved from drowning and probable shark attack by a “porpoise” (dolphin)
1960 – Grand Bahama Island
More recently, on the night of February 29, 1960, Mrs. Yvonne M. Bliss of Stuart fell
from a boat off the east coast of Grand Bahama Island in the West Indies.' "After floating, swimming, shedding more clothing for what seemed an eternity, I saw a form in the water to the left of me. ... It touched the side of my hip and, thinking it must be a shark, I moved over to the right to try to get away from it. This change in my position was to my advantage as heretofore I was bucking a cross tide and the waves would wash over my head and I would swallow a great deal of water. This sea animal which I knew by this time must be a porpoise had guided me so that I was being carried with the tide. "After another eternity and being thankful that my friend was keeping away the sharks and barracuda for which these waters are famous, the porpoise moved back of me and came around to my right side. I moved over to give room to my companion and later knew that had not the porpoise done this, I would have been going downstream to deeper and faster moving waters. The porpoise had guided me to the section where the water was the most shallow. Shortly I touched what felt like fish netting to my feet. It was seaweed and under that the glorious and most welcome bottom. As I turned toward shore, stumbling, losing balance, and saying a prayer of thanks, my rescuer took off like a streak on down the channel."

-From “The Dolphin in History” http://www.archive.org/stream/dolphininhistory00mont/dolphininhistory00mont_djvu.txt

Saved from drowning by a dolphin
1945 – Florida
In 1945 the wife of a well-known trial attorney residing in Florida was saved from drowning by a dolphin. This woman had stepped into a sea with a strong undertow and was immediately dragged under. Just before losing consciousness, she remembers hoping that someone would push her ashore. "With that, someone gave me a tremendous shove, and I landed on the beach, face down, too exhausted to turn over . . . when I did, no one was near, but in the water almost eighteen feet out a porpoise was leaping around, and a few feet beyond him another large fish was also leaping." In this case the porpoise was almost certainly a dolphin and the large fish a fishtail shark. A man who had observed the events from the other side of a fence told the rescued woman that this was the second time he had seen a drowning person saved by a "porpoise."

-From “The Dolphin in History” http://www.archive.org/stream/dolphininhistory00mont/dolphininhistory00mont_djvu.txt

World War II rescue
World War II – Pacific Ocean
The dolphin's extraordinary interest in and, what we will I am sure not be far wrong in interpreting as, concern for human beings, is dramatically told by George Llano in his report Airmen Against the Sea. This report, written on survival at sea during the Second World War, records the experience of six American airmen, shot down over the Pacific, who found themselves in a seven-man raft being pushed by a porpoise toward land. Unfortunately the land was an island held by the Japanese. The friendly porpoise must have been surprised and hurt when he found himself being dissuaded from his pushing by being beaten of with the oars of the airmen.

-From “The Dolphin in History” http://www.archive.org/stream/dolphininhistory00mont/dolphininhistory00mont_djvu.txt

Vietnam rescue
18th century - Vietnam
The Vietnamese navy was assisted by a pod of dolphins that helped rescue sailors whose boat was sunk by Chinese invaders. Since then the Vietnamese people have worshiped dolphins and whales and erected a building called the "Temple of the Whale."
http://funandsun.com/1tocf/natf/dolphins.html

Dolphins and Whales Saving Other Animals

Humpback whales intervene in killer whale hunt
2012 – Monterey Bay, California
Whalewatchers and researchers observe humpback whales trying to protect
a gray whale calf being hunted by orcas.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/17991601

Dolphin helps save life of doberman
2011 – Florida
A dolphin alerts humans to a lost dog stuck in a canal for 15 hours, saving its life.
http://www.news-press.com/article/20110223/MARCOCOMMUNITY/102240327/1010/sports/Dolphin-alert-saves-life-Doberman?odyssey=mod%7Clateststories

Save the Seal! Whales act instinctively to save seals
2009 – Antarctica
Research scientists observe humpback whales protecting seals being attacked by killer whales.
http://www.naturalhistorymag.com/exploring-science-and-nature/161929/save-the-seal

Dolphin appears to rescue whales
2008 – New Zealand
Moko the bottlenose dolphin successfully leads stranded pygmy sperm whale mother and calf back out to sea after several unsuccessful rescue attempts by humans.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23588063/ns/world_news-world_environment/

Dolphins rescue sea lion from killer whales
1978 – Unspecified location
Sailors on board a fishing vessel from the USSR in 1978 heard a sea lion calling while they were sailing. They noticed that the sea lion was surrounded by several killer whales and almost seemed to be calling for help. Within a few minutes a number of dolphins appeared and the whales moved away. And a little later when the dolphins left, the whales returned and made a rush towards the sea lion. The dolphins quickly returned, leaped over the top of the whales’ heads and then formed a protective circle around the sea lion. The sea lion was spared.
http://www.oocities.org/magdalena_babblejack/OceanTrivia.html

Ancient Stories, Myths, and Fables:

1) An early literary reference to the dolphin occurs in Aesop's fable, "The Monkey and the Dolphin." During a violent storm a ship was capsized, and among those thrown into the water was a monkey. Observing its distress a dolphin came to its rescue, and taking the monkey upon its back the dolphin headed for shore. Opposite Piraeus, the harbor of Athens, the dolphin inquired of the monkey whether he was an Athenian. "Oh, yes," replied the monkey, "and from one of the best families." "Then you know Piraeus," said the dolphin. "Very well, indeed," said the monkey, "he is one of my most intimate friends." Whereupon, outraged by so gross a deceit, the dolphin took a deep dive
and left the monkey to its fate.

-From “The Dolphin in History” http://www.archive.org/stream/dolphininhistory00mont/dolphininhistory00mont_djvu.txt

2) The cult of Apollo Delphinus was initiated, so legend has it, by Icadius who, leaving his native land of Lycia, which he had named for his mother, set out for Italy. Shipwrecked on the way, he was taken on the back of a dolphin, which set him down near Mount Parnassus, where he founded a temple to his father Apollo, and called the place Delphi after the dolphin. For this reason the dolphin became among the things most sacred to Apollo.

-From “The Dolphin in History” http://www.archive.org/stream/dolphininhistory00mont/dolphininhistory00mont_djvu.txt

3) According to Plutarch, for example, a native of the Greek island of Paros once found some fishermen about to kill some dolphins they had caught, and bargained for their release. Some time later, while sailing between Paros and the neighbouring island of Naxos, his boat overturned in a storm. Of the crew, he alone survived, rescued by a dolphin that carried him on its back to the nearby shore.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/whales/man/myth.html

4) Christianity in turn seems to have taken and adapted several of the Greek myths for its own ends. No fewer than five of the early Christian saints are deemed to have been rescued by dolphins. The most colorful of these is undoubtedly St Martinian the Hermit, who, to avoid temptation by a woman, could find no escape but to throw himself into the sea, from which an obliging dolphin carried him on its back to the shore.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/whales/man/myth.html

5) The Greek writer Herodotus tells the story of Arion, a lyre-player from Methymna employed by Periander, King of Corinth. Arion is a talented and innovative musician whose performances around the Mediterranean have made him extremely rich. Sailing home from a lucrative tour of Italy to his native Corinth, his crew turn on him, threatening to throw him overboard and take his money. Arion tries to bargain for his life but the crew will have none of it and give him a choice: either he kills himself or they throw him over the side. Arion, for reasons that Herodotus doesn't really explain, asks if he might sing one last song. The crew agree - after all, why turn down a free farewell concert from the best singer in the known world? As the last note dies away, Arion leaps into the sea. The ship sails on, but instead of drowning, Arion is rescued by a school of dolphins that have been beguiled by the beauty of his music and carry him to shore. He makes his way back to Corinth and tells his story to King Periander, who cannot believe it. The plot is eventually uncovered when the ship arrives and the crew swear that they left Arion alive and well in Italy.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/whales/man/myth.html
6) Taras, son of Neptune, founded a city called Tarento on the spot he was carried to safety by a dolphin.
http://dolphins.jump-gate.com/history/the%20_history_of_dolphins_1.shtml

7) It is also said that Telemachus, son of Ulysses, fell into the water as a child. He was rescued by dolphins. Thereafter, Ulysses wore a ring engraved with the image of dolphins. The dolphin was sacred to the Greeks, and they would never dream of harming a dolphin.
http://dolphins.jump-gate.com/history/the%20_history_of_dolphins_1.shtml

[Nat_Lee]

old video but very amusing to watch them.

Just something to lift the energy :)

And you are doing it perfectly !
Thank you Starseed (http://projectavalon.net/forum4/member.php?22327-starseed108) !

[conk]

Ravens and perhaps one other non-human animal can recognize their reflection in the mirror.

This video, https://archive.org/details/Dr_Wolf , is quite interesting. Dr. Wolf talks of UFOs and of the vast intelligence of marine mammals.

[Tesla_WTC_Solution]

Ravens and perhaps one other non-human animal can recognize their reflection in the mirror.

This video, https://archive.org/details/Dr_Wolf , is quite interesting. Dr. Wolf talks of UFOs and of the vast intelligence of marine mammals.

Raven brought Light to humanity according to the PNW myths :)


Raven Brings the Light

Long ago when the world was young, the earth and all living creatures were shrouded in the darkness. It was said that a great chief was keeping all the light for himself, but no one was certain, for the light was so carefully hidden that no one had ever actually seen it. The chief knew that his people were suffering, but he was a selfish man and did not care.

Raven was sad for his people, for he knew that without light the earth would not bring forth the food the people needed to survive. Raven decided to rescue the light. He knew that the way to the chief’s village was very long. When Raven arrived, he said to himself, “I must find a way to live the in the chief’s house and capture the light.”

So Raven transformed himself into a seed and floated on the surface of the nearby stream. When the chief’s daughter came to draw water, Raven was ready. No matter how she tried to drink some of the water, the seed was always in her way. Finally, she tired of trying to remove it, and she drank it along with the water.

The woman became pregnant, and in time she gave birth to a son, who was Raven in disguise. The chief loved his grandson, and whatever the child wanted, his grandfather gave him.

As the boy crawled, he noticed many bags hanging on the walls of the lodge. One by one he pointed to them, and one by one his grandfather gave them to him.

Finally his grandfather gave him the bag that was filled with stars, and the bag that contained the moon. The child rolled the bags around on the floor of the lodge, then suddenly let go of them. The bags immediately rose to the ceiling, drifted through the smoke hole, and flew up into the heavens. There they burst open, spilling the stars and the moon into the sky.

The boy continued to play with bag after bag and box after box until one day he pointed to the last box left in the lodge. His grandfather took him upon his lap and said, “When I open this box, I am giving you the last and dearest of my possessions, the sun. Please take care of it!”

Then the chief closed the smoke hole and picked up the large wooden box he had hidden among other boxes in the shadows of one corner of the lodge. As soon as the chief removed the sun from this box, his lodging was flooded with a brilliant light.

The child laughed with delight as his grandfather gave him the fiery ball to play with. He rolled the sun around the floor of the lodging until he tired of the game and pushed it aside. His grandfather then replaced the sun in its box.
Day after day Raven and his grandfather repeated this process. Raven would point to the sun’s box, play with it until he tired of it, and then watch as his grandfather put the fiery ball away.

Finally the day came when the chief was not as careful as usual. He forgot to close the smoke hole, and he no longer watched Raven play with the fiery ball. The child resumed his Raven shape, grasped the ball of light in his claws, and flew up through the smoke hole into the sky, traveling in the direction of the river.

Raven spied people fishing in the dark. He said to them, “if you will give me some fish, I will give you some light.” At first they did not believe him. However, when Raven raised his wing and showed them enough light for them to fish with ease, they gave him part of their catch. When he had his fill of fish he lifted his wing, grabbed the sun with both claws and tossed it high into the sky. “Now my people will have light both day and night!” he exclaimed. And from that day forward, the people no longer lived in darkness.

http://www.coldwatercounselingcenter.org/Pages/raven.aspx

http://www.coldwatercounselingcenter.org/SiteImages/Mission%20Fish.jpg

The soul cannot exist without its other side, which is always found in a "You." -- C. G. Jung

http://www.randafricanart.com/sitebuilder/images/H046-L00249109_1_-600x440.jpg

Dolphins as Slaves

http://seattletimes.com/html/pacificnw/2012662209_pacificpdolphins29.html


The Navy once collected dolphins in the wild but now breeds its charges in captivity, and the teaching of new recruits begins within a few weeks of life. On this day, the youngsters leapt and swam inside a network of docks and pens like toddlers tumbling on a playground. Nearby, their human counterparts readied boats to ferry them to sea.


The Navy's methods aren't anything special: You can't teach a Labrador puppy to catch and return a Frisbee until after it learns to sit and stay on command. Likewise, with dolphins "we break down every movement to its individual components," Harris says. To prepare even a quick learner like Bunsen to signal when it spots an object on the sea floor, trainers first use underwater whistles and rewards to praise him each time he swims anywhere near it. Those rewards might be squid or fish or cheerful banter and soothing pats. Each marine mammal works with the same human trainer, who painstakingly bumps up the complexity of each task until the dolphins can perform sophisticated maneuvers. It can take three to six years of working five days a week for a single animal to ignore inevitable distractions and get it right every single time.

Some dolphins are taught to hunt for mines and carefully drop acoustic transponders nearby. Those headed for Puget Sound will patrol for human divers. Spotting a potential intruder, the dolphin will swim back to a boat where a handler fixes a strobe to its snout. The dolphin then buzzes out and bumps the intruder in the torso, sending a strobe light to the water's surface. Armed soldiers on nearby boats do the rest — unless a trained sea lion happens to be handy. The sea lions are taught to carry a quick-release metal cuff attached to a line. They can dive toward swimmers and clamp the cuff at the thigh.

http://seattletimes.com/ABPub/2010/08/26/2012721944.jpg


The military wasn't prepared for the response it got.

Former trainers accused the Navy of abusing its animals. Environmentalists said the Navy was putting warm-water dolphins at risk in the Sound's chilly waters. Some critics even speculated that dolphins had been trained to use nose-mounted guns to kill invaders.

The Navy denied everything. The Marine Mammal Commission investigated and found no abuse. But the Navy's history of secrecy just made it worse. When animal-rights groups sued, the Navy agreed to reconsider its plans. But in the meantime the Cold War ended, Congress began shuttering military bases and plans were made to wind down the use of marine mammals.

"It's the stuff that people believed they were doing but weren't that got people most riled up," says Paul Eugene Nachtigall, director of marine mammal research at the University of Hawaii.

The Navy may also have misjudged who we are: What Seattleite wouldn't be a bit squeamish mixing words like "dolphin" and "terrorism"? Plus, contesting captive sea life is embedded in our DNA. Many still recall the squeals and thrashing in 1970, when whale hunters herded dozens of orcas — which, in fact, are large dolphins — into Penn Cove and lassoed them for sale to marine parks. To hide the whales that died then, wranglers wrapped carcasses in chains and stuffed them with rocks. The outrage that followed when those dead animals surfaced fueled Congress' passage of the Marine Mammal Protection Act. To this day, Whidbey Island residents stage an annual protest demanding that a Miami aquarium return Lolita, the sole surviving orca from that capture.


Most of us don't even know all they can do. "What I wouldn't give to have 60 seconds inside a dolphin's head!" says Hawaii scientist Nachtigall.

It's increasingly clear that dolphins are higher-order beings — perhaps far higher than researchers once thought. Dolphins have been known to use tools, grabbing deep-sea sponges to scrape at mud and rocks to drive out fish. They're self-aware enough to recognize themselves in mirrors. They're fabulous at imitation and can mimic entire sequences of actions. Florida trainers once taught a dolphin to repeat the Batman theme song. "They're actually better at aping behavior than apes," says Janet Mann, a Georgetown University professor of psychology and biology.

No, the human apes are wrong, dolphins are nothing like us monkeys...
in their world the songs MEAN THINGS. In our world it's just entertainment.

WE are the apes, we are the second rate predators.


So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish is the fourth book of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series written by Douglas Adams. Its title is the message left by the dolphins when they departed Planet Earth just before it was demolished to make way for a hyperspace bypass, as described in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. The phrase has since been adopted by some science fiction fans as a humorous way to say "goodbye" and a song of the same name was featured in the 2005 film adaptation of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1174118024l/363933.jpg

[Cidersomerset]

I think Dolphins and whales should be classed sentient beings.

So when I saw this article earlier , I was sad and angry.
The fishermen claim they only eat those drowned in
their nets, but that does not ring completely true.
Where theres a market there is usually a supplier.
Even though it is illegal in Taiwan. I won't show
it, there is a short vid on the link..

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-26847988

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I have put up a couple threads on dolphins and the
vid of the Dolphin asking divers for help to free his
flipper from fishing line is poignant and intelligent.

-kiH-vOutbY


another article I saw on RT during the Crimea crises was
about navy dolphins.....

sa69XblQw5o

Published on 27 Mar 2014


The combat dolphins of Crimea will now serve the Russian Black Sea Fleet.
They will assist divers in searching for sunken ships and lost underwater
equipment, Russian naval forces said.

[DeDukshyn]

No, the human apes are wrong, dolphins are nothing like us monkeys...
in their world the songs MEAN THINGS. In our world it's just entertainment.

In my honest opinion, the natural sound(s) of a human is song - not speech. But not song in the way we use it -- more like understanding the nature and vast implications of vibrations and what knowing that holds, "music" unlike anything we have yet to hear -- some of the best baroque classical is hinting in that direction but still not even close.

There is a thread here started by Heyoka on ancients and sound, and other threads as well, that hint on the powers of sound and song -- that indicate evidence from ancient cultures that they knew some things along these lines.

Consider that as the "highest" (sometimes questionable) species populating this planet, it would make sense that our "song" would be the greatest of all the species -- not just this ugly, destructive "noise" we make -- "speech", which humans resort to as pretty much the only type of uttering we do currently ...

Just a rambling thought for consideration ;)

[AngelArmy]

old video but very amusing to watch them.

Just something to lift the energy :)

And you are doing it perfectly !
Thank you Starseed (http://projectavalon.net/forum4/member.php?22327-starseed108) !

Merci cherie :) You too very clearly - well done :)

[AngelArmy]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spindle_neurons


Spindle neurons, also called von Economo neurons (VENs), are a specific class of neurons that are characterized by a large spindle-shaped soma, gradually tapering into a single apical axon in one direction, with only a single dendrite facing opposite. Whereas other types of cells tend to have many dendrites, the polar shaped morphology of spindle neurons is unique. They are found in two very restricted regions in the brains of hominids – the family of species comprising humans and other great apes – the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and the fronto-insular cortex (FI). Recently they have been discovered in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex of humans.[1] Spindle cells are also found in the brains of the humpback whales, fin whales, killer whales, sperm whales,[2][3] bottlenose dolphin, Risso’s dolphin, beluga whales,[4] and the African and Asian elephants.[5] The name von Economo neuron comes from their discoverer, Constantin von Economo (1876–1931) who described them in 1929.[6]


Related pathologies[edit]
Abnormal spindle neuron development may be linked to several psychotic disorders, typically those characterized by distortions of reality, disturbances of thought, disturbances of language, and withdrawal from social contact. Altered spindle neuron states have been implicated in both schizophrenia and autism, but research into these correlations remains at a very early stage. An initial study suggested that Alzheimer's disease specifically targeted Von Economo neurons, however, this study was performed with end-stage Alzheimer brains in which cell destruction was widespread. Later, it was found that Alzheimer's disease doesn't affect the VENS, but behavioral variant frontotemporal lobe degeneration specifically targets these cell populations in the anterior cingulate cortex and the anterior insula early in the disease.


http://news.discovery.com/animals/dolphin-intelligence-explained.htm

If human standards for intelligence are applied to non-human animals, however, dolphins come very close to our own brain aptitude levels, suggests Emory University dolphin expert Lori Marino.

She's performed MRI scans of dolphin brains. The scans prove dolphin brains are:

big, relative to body size
intricate, with a neocortex "more highly convoluted than our own"
structured to allow for self-awareness and the processing of what Marino calls "complex emotions"
All animals share the capacity for emotions, she explained, but the part of the dolphin brain associated with processing emotional information is particularly expanded.

Why then did dolphins evolve to become so brainy?

Marino and her colleagues have analyzed modern dolphins and remains of ancient marine mammals to help answer that question.

The first jump in brain size happened 39 million years ago, when odontocetes (members of an order that includes dolphins, toothed whales, sperm whales, beaked whales and porpoises) diverged from their ancestral Archaeoceti group. When this split occurred, body sizes for some decreased and brain sizes increased, especially in the ancestors of modern dolphins. This coincided with the emergence of echolocation, so improved communication skills likely were tied to the brain size boost.

Fifteen million years ago yet another brain growth spurt happened. Marino and her colleagues speculate that changes in social ecology—essentially the dolphin's social lifestyle—probably contributed to the process. For example, the more a dolphin needed to communicate, benefiting its survival, the more its brain evolved to permit that interaction.

Moving to the present, dolphins have brains that are about "five times larger for their body size when compared to another animal of similar size," Marino said. "In humans, the measure is seven times larger—not a huge difference."

She concluded, "Essentially, the brains of primates and cetaceans arrived at the same cognitive space while evolving along quite different paths."

As a footnote to the above, it's important to remember that killer whales, also known as orcas, are actually the largest members of the dolphin family. Since this piece first ran, killer whales have been scrutinized due to a killer whale attack at SeaWorld. Trainer Dawn Brancheau died in the incident, which is still under investigation.

Lori Marino recently commented on the death, telling the Los Angeles Times: "I'm not trying to second-guess what was in this particular whale's mind. But, certainly, if we are talking about whether killer whales have the wherewithal and the cognitive capacity to intentionally strike out at someone, or to be angry, or to really know what they are doing, I would have to say the answer is yes."

http://www.dolphins-world.com/dolphins-rescuing-humans/


Dolphin Heroes
In Greek stories and old sea stories, there are dozens of claims of dolphins helping drowning sailors, rescuing people from sharks, and making themselves useful as guides through treacherous waters. The “treacherous waters” guiding can be ascribed to the dolphin’s needing a similar water depth as many boats.

Dolphins and other cetaceans also help injured members of their family groups and newborn babies to the surface by swimming under them and nudging upward, just as some reports describe them doing with humans. Interestingly, there are some real reports of dolphins helping other cetaceans. In 1983 at Tokerau Beach, North-land, New Zealand, a pod of pilot whales ran aground during ebb-tide. The Zealanders who lived there came out and did their best to keep the whales alive, sponging their skin and calming them, until the tide came back in. But even then the whales were having trouble orienting.

Dolphins came to the rescue. Somehow, a pod of dolphins who were nearby figured out what was happening. They swam into the shallows, putting themselves at risk, and “herded” the pilot whales out to sea, saving 76 of 80 whales. Five years earlier, a similar incident had occurred at Whangarei harbor. If dolphins are smart enough and helpful enough to save other cetaceans in that manner, why not humans.


Real-Life Cases: Dolphins Saving Humans

You’ve seen it in Flipper and other popular culture stories; dolphins rescuing humans from drowning or sharks, keeping them safe from harm. But does it really happen? The answer is, surprisingly often.

Several years ago, in the Gulf of Akaba, a British tourist was rescued by three dolphins from sharks. Near the Sinai Peninsula, a ship captain had stopped his boat so several passengers could watch dolphins playing. Three of the passengers decided to swim with them, and one stayed a little longer than the others. To his horror, he was bitten by a shark – and more were coming. Suddenly, three dolphins placed themselves between the tourist and the sharks, smacking the water with tails and flippers, and drove the sharks off so the man could be rescued.

In 2004, a group of swimmers were confronted by a ten-foot great white shark off the northern coast of new Zealand. A pod of dolphins “herded” them together, circling them until the great white fled. There are several other examples from the area of Australia of similar incidences.

In another case in the Red Sea, twelve divers who were lost for thirteen and a half hours were surrounded by dolphins for the entire time, repelling the many sharks that live in the area. When a rescue boat showed up, it appeared that the dolphin pod were showing them where the divers were; they leaped up in the air in front of the rescuers, jumping toward the lost people as if to lead the boat onward – as, according to old stories, they often did with endangered ships in treacherous water.

Because we can’t talk to dolphins, we can’t really fathom what their motives are in these situations. It is, however, very possible that they are indeed trying to help and protect fellow mammals in the ocean to safety. If this is true, it means that they are the only animals, besides humans, which show true altruism.

http://www.savethewhales.org/Dolphins_Rescuing_Humans.html


Dolphins Rescuing Humans

We often read in the news about humans rescuing stranded, entangled, sick, or injured whales and dolphins, but did you know that these animals do their fair share of lifesaving too?

Dolphins & Whales Saving People
Ancient Greek historian Plutarch wrote: "To the dolphin alone, beyond all others, nature has given what the best philosophers seek; friendship for no advantage. Though it has no need of man, yet it is a friend to all men and has often given them great aid."

Beluga whale saves diver
2009 – China
During a freediving competition in the arctic tank at an aquarium in China, a distressed diver is guided to the surface by Mila the beluga whale, saving her life.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/5931345/Beluga-whale-saves-diver.html

Dolphins save Puerto Princesa fisherman
2008 – Philippines
A pod of dolphins, and possibly even pilot whales, save a local fisherman from drowning after his small boat overturns during a squall. Making the story even more unique, the fisherman is also an official dolphin warden who promotes dolphin and whale shark watching as a tourist attraction in his town.
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/regions/view/20081216-178325/Dolphins-save-P

Dolphins save surfer from becoming shark’s bait
2007 – California
A pod of bottlenose dolphins form a protective ring around a surfer that had just been severely mauled by a great white shark allowing him to get to shore, saving his life.
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/21689083/ns/today-today_people/

Did dolphins save injured diver? Rescued diver tells of epic 56-hour struggle to survive
2006 – Channel Islands (England/France)
Dolphins draw rescuers’ attention to a lone scuba diver knocked unconscious after being hit by a boat, saving his life.
http://www.underwatertimes.com/news.php?article_id=51079184603

Dolphins save boaters in 2004 tsunami
2004 – Thailand
Chris Cruz, a scuba diving instructor and trip leader was out at sea, just off of Khao Lak, north of Phuket in Thailand, with diving crews when the tsunami hit. He says he was saved because he followed dolphins to safety.
http://www.hawaiidolphinretreat.com/DolphinsTsunami.html

Dolphins save swimmers from shark
2004 – New Zealand
Dolphins surround a group of swimmers protecting them from a nearby great white shark, preventing an attack.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2004/11/24/dolphin_newzealand041124.html

Dolphins led rescue boat to us, say divers lost in Red Sea
2004 – Red Sea
Thirteen divers lost at sea for 13½ hours believe that dolphins led the rescue boat to them.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1469049/Dolphins-led-rescue-boat-to-us-say-divers-lost-in-Red-Sea.html

‘Dolphins saved me from sharks’
2002 – Australia
A fisherman stranded in the ocean for over 40 hours after his boat sank is saved from a potential shark attack by a pod of dolphins.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/2145887.stm

Elian says dolphins saved his life
2000 – Florida/Cuba
Elian Gonzalez, the Cuban boy that was at the center of an international custody dispute, says dolphins saved his life by helping him stay above water and cling to an inner tube after the boat he was travelling in sank.
http://www.iol.co.za/news/world/elian-says-dolphins-saved-his-life-1.33676

Dolphin saves boy’s life
2000 – Italy
Filippo the friendly dolphin saves a 14 year-old boy from drowning after he falls off of his father’s boat.
http://www.eurocbc.org/page158.html

Three dolphins rescue tourist from sharks
1996 - Gulf of Akaba
A British tourist is shielded by a group of dolphins during a shark attack.
http://www.jweekly.com/article/full/3738/three-dolphins-rescue-tourist-from-sharks/

Dolphins to the rescue -- again!
1983 – New Zealand
A pod of dolphins guides 76 stranded pilot whales back out to sea after rescue attempts by humans fail.
http://www.science-frontiers.com/sf035/sf035p09.htm

Dolphins to the rescue
1978 – New Zealand
In Whangarei Harbour in New Zealand in 1978, fifty pilot whales attempted to beach themselves. Government officials tried to encourage the whales back into the sea but unfortunately failed. The officials went out on speedboats and guided a passing group of dolphins back into the harbour. When they arrived, the dolphins seemed to see the plight the whales were in and guided the whales toward open water.
http://www.oocities.org/magdalena_babblejack/OceanTrivia.html

Dick Van Dyke: Pod of porpoises saved me from death after I fell asleep on my surfboard
Date not specified – Virginia
As a youth, actor Dick Van Dyke was rescued by porpoises after falling asleep on his surfboard and drifting out to sea. At first he thought he was surrounded by sharks, but they turned out to be porpoises, and they pushed him all the way back to shore.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1328806/Dick-Van-Dyke-Pod-porpoises-saved-I-fell-asleep-surfboard.html

Dolphins saved my life
Date not specified – South Carolina
A young girl was taken for the ride of her life on the back of a dolphin, keeping her away from a nearby shark.
http://www.kajama.com/index.php?file=articledetail&id=A891430A-F3F1-40C7-A79C-EB3B3CD5B29D&PageNum=1

Saved from drowning and probable shark attack by a “porpoise” (dolphin)
1960 – Grand Bahama Island
More recently, on the night of February 29, 1960, Mrs. Yvonne M. Bliss of Stuart fell
from a boat off the east coast of Grand Bahama Island in the West Indies.' "After floating, swimming, shedding more clothing for what seemed an eternity, I saw a form in the water to the left of me. ... It touched the side of my hip and, thinking it must be a shark, I moved over to the right to try to get away from it. This change in my position was to my advantage as heretofore I was bucking a cross tide and the waves would wash over my head and I would swallow a great deal of water. This sea animal which I knew by this time must be a porpoise had guided me so that I was being carried with the tide. "After another eternity and being thankful that my friend was keeping away the sharks and barracuda for which these waters are famous, the porpoise moved back of me and came around to my right side. I moved over to give room to my companion and later knew that had not the porpoise done this, I would have been going downstream to deeper and faster moving waters. The porpoise had guided me to the section where the water was the most shallow. Shortly I touched what felt like fish netting to my feet. It was seaweed and under that the glorious and most welcome bottom. As I turned toward shore, stumbling, losing balance, and saying a prayer of thanks, my rescuer took off like a streak on down the channel."

-From “The Dolphin in History” http://www.archive.org/stream/dolphininhistory00mont/dolphininhistory00mont_djvu.txt

Saved from drowning by a dolphin
1945 – Florida
In 1945 the wife of a well-known trial attorney residing in Florida was saved from drowning by a dolphin. This woman had stepped into a sea with a strong undertow and was immediately dragged under. Just before losing consciousness, she remembers hoping that someone would push her ashore. "With that, someone gave me a tremendous shove, and I landed on the beach, face down, too exhausted to turn over . . . when I did, no one was near, but in the water almost eighteen feet out a porpoise was leaping around, and a few feet beyond him another large fish was also leaping." In this case the porpoise was almost certainly a dolphin and the large fish a fishtail shark. A man who had observed the events from the other side of a fence told the rescued woman that this was the second time he had seen a drowning person saved by a "porpoise."

-From “The Dolphin in History” http://www.archive.org/stream/dolphininhistory00mont/dolphininhistory00mont_djvu.txt

World War II rescue
World War II – Pacific Ocean
The dolphin's extraordinary interest in and, what we will I am sure not be far wrong in interpreting as, concern for human beings, is dramatically told by George Llano in his report Airmen Against the Sea. This report, written on survival at sea during the Second World War, records the experience of six American airmen, shot down over the Pacific, who found themselves in a seven-man raft being pushed by a porpoise toward land. Unfortunately the land was an island held by the Japanese. The friendly porpoise must have been surprised and hurt when he found himself being dissuaded from his pushing by being beaten of with the oars of the airmen.

-From “The Dolphin in History” http://www.archive.org/stream/dolphininhistory00mont/dolphininhistory00mont_djvu.txt

Vietnam rescue
18th century - Vietnam
The Vietnamese navy was assisted by a pod of dolphins that helped rescue sailors whose boat was sunk by Chinese invaders. Since then the Vietnamese people have worshiped dolphins and whales and erected a building called the "Temple of the Whale."
http://funandsun.com/1tocf/natf/dolphins.html

Dolphins and Whales Saving Other Animals

Humpback whales intervene in killer whale hunt
2012 – Monterey Bay, California
Whalewatchers and researchers observe humpback whales trying to protect
a gray whale calf being hunted by orcas.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/17991601

Dolphin helps save life of doberman
2011 – Florida
A dolphin alerts humans to a lost dog stuck in a canal for 15 hours, saving its life.
http://www.news-press.com/article/20110223/MARCOCOMMUNITY/102240327/1010/sports/Dolphin-alert-saves-life-Doberman?odyssey=mod%7Clateststories

Save the Seal! Whales act instinctively to save seals
2009 – Antarctica
Research scientists observe humpback whales protecting seals being attacked by killer whales.
http://www.naturalhistorymag.com/exploring-science-and-nature/161929/save-the-seal

Dolphin appears to rescue whales
2008 – New Zealand
Moko the bottlenose dolphin successfully leads stranded pygmy sperm whale mother and calf back out to sea after several unsuccessful rescue attempts by humans.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23588063/ns/world_news-world_environment/

Dolphins rescue sea lion from killer whales
1978 – Unspecified location
Sailors on board a fishing vessel from the USSR in 1978 heard a sea lion calling while they were sailing. They noticed that the sea lion was surrounded by several killer whales and almost seemed to be calling for help. Within a few minutes a number of dolphins appeared and the whales moved away. And a little later when the dolphins left, the whales returned and made a rush towards the sea lion. The dolphins quickly returned, leaped over the top of the whales’ heads and then formed a protective circle around the sea lion. The sea lion was spared.
http://www.oocities.org/magdalena_babblejack/OceanTrivia.html

Ancient Stories, Myths, and Fables:

1) An early literary reference to the dolphin occurs in Aesop's fable, "The Monkey and the Dolphin." During a violent storm a ship was capsized, and among those thrown into the water was a monkey. Observing its distress a dolphin came to its rescue, and taking the monkey upon its back the dolphin headed for shore. Opposite Piraeus, the harbor of Athens, the dolphin inquired of the monkey whether he was an Athenian. "Oh, yes," replied the monkey, "and from one of the best families." "Then you know Piraeus," said the dolphin. "Very well, indeed," said the monkey, "he is one of my most intimate friends." Whereupon, outraged by so gross a deceit, the dolphin took a deep dive
and left the monkey to its fate.

-From “The Dolphin in History” http://www.archive.org/stream/dolphininhistory00mont/dolphininhistory00mont_djvu.txt

2) The cult of Apollo Delphinus was initiated, so legend has it, by Icadius who, leaving his native land of Lycia, which he had named for his mother, set out for Italy. Shipwrecked on the way, he was taken on the back of a dolphin, which set him down near Mount Parnassus, where he founded a temple to his father Apollo, and called the place Delphi after the dolphin. For this reason the dolphin became among the things most sacred to Apollo.

-From “The Dolphin in History” http://www.archive.org/stream/dolphininhistory00mont/dolphininhistory00mont_djvu.txt

3) According to Plutarch, for example, a native of the Greek island of Paros once found some fishermen about to kill some dolphins they had caught, and bargained for their release. Some time later, while sailing between Paros and the neighbouring island of Naxos, his boat overturned in a storm. Of the crew, he alone survived, rescued by a dolphin that carried him on its back to the nearby shore.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/whales/man/myth.html

4) Christianity in turn seems to have taken and adapted several of the Greek myths for its own ends. No fewer than five of the early Christian saints are deemed to have been rescued by dolphins. The most colorful of these is undoubtedly St Martinian the Hermit, who, to avoid temptation by a woman, could find no escape but to throw himself into the sea, from which an obliging dolphin carried him on its back to the shore.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/whales/man/myth.html

5) The Greek writer Herodotus tells the story of Arion, a lyre-player from Methymna employed by Periander, King of Corinth. Arion is a talented and innovative musician whose performances around the Mediterranean have made him extremely rich. Sailing home from a lucrative tour of Italy to his native Corinth, his crew turn on him, threatening to throw him overboard and take his money. Arion tries to bargain for his life but the crew will have none of it and give him a choice: either he kills himself or they throw him over the side. Arion, for reasons that Herodotus doesn't really explain, asks if he might sing one last song. The crew agree - after all, why turn down a free farewell concert from the best singer in the known world? As the last note dies away, Arion leaps into the sea. The ship sails on, but instead of drowning, Arion is rescued by a school of dolphins that have been beguiled by the beauty of his music and carry him to shore. He makes his way back to Corinth and tells his story to King Periander, who cannot believe it. The plot is eventually uncovered when the ship arrives and the crew swear that they left Arion alive and well in Italy.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/whales/man/myth.html
6) Taras, son of Neptune, founded a city called Tarento on the spot he was carried to safety by a dolphin.
http://dolphins.jump-gate.com/history/the%20_history_of_dolphins_1.shtml

7) It is also said that Telemachus, son of Ulysses, fell into the water as a child. He was rescued by dolphins. Thereafter, Ulysses wore a ring engraved with the image of dolphins. The dolphin was sacred to the Greeks, and they would never dream of harming a dolphin.
http://dolphins.jump-gate.com/history/the%20_history_of_dolphins_1.shtml



Wow thank you so much the info is great and extensive - lots to read (hug)