Wild Dolphin asks Divers for help

[Deleted]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-21176914

A wild dolphin caught in a fishing line comes to divers and allows them to remove a fishing line caught in its fins which would have killed it.
Simply amazing. How anyone can think that animal's are not intelligent is beyond me.

[Deleted]

Never trust an animal that grins all the time, it is up to something.

[derpkitteh]

if it wasn't for us, i'd say dolphins would eventually become full on sentient. but, i doubt they will get the same chance we got :/

[Grimfrost]

A rare pink kind of dolphin actually has 40% more brain mass than humans.

[Howard Moon]

Go home dolphin, you are drunk.

[Deleted]

if it wasn't for us, i'd say dolphins would eventually become full on sentient. but, i doubt they will get the same chance we got :/

After seeing a wild animal behave like this, IE asking another species for help, and more importantly knowing that the divers where helping it and moving in a way to allow the diver to help it it makes me believe that we do not credit them with enough intelligence. It would not surprise me in the slightest to find out that they are "as sentient" as we are.

[Deleted]

Never trust an animal that grins all the time, it is up to something.

Dolphins can be pretty mean and drown humans, the sickest part is that they will keep smiling while murdering :S
I love dolphins!

[derpkitteh]

After seeing a wild animal behave like this, IE asking another species for help, and more importantly knowing that the divers where helping it and moving in a way to allow the diver to help it it makes me believe that we do not credit them with enough intelligence. It would not surprise me in the slightest to find out that they are "as sentient" as we are.

it's possible they are slightly sentient. i mean, they speak to each other with what seems to be language, they do things like this quite frequently. perhaps they are at the level we were just before caveman days. what i meant though, they could have gone on to be what we are now. but because humans are the way we are... i doubt they will get the chance to do so.

[Noomz]

if it wasn't for us, i'd say dolphins would eventually become full on sentient. but, i doubt they will get the same chance we got :/

I have the radical idea that dolphins should be considered sentient and given protective rights, along with many of the great apes.

---------- Post added 2013-01-24 at 03:10 PM ----------

it's possible they are slightly sentient. i mean, they speak to each other with what seems to be language, they do things like this quite frequently. perhaps they are at the level we were just before caveman days. what i meant though, they could have gone on to be what we are now. but because humans are the way we are... i doubt they will get the chance to do so.

You should see this video. A whale shows clear understanding of what's going on and obviously shows gratitude to being freed.

[Deleted]

That's pretty cool.

Dolphins be smart, yo.

[Spectral]

if it wasn't for us, i'd say dolphins would eventually become full on sentient. but, i doubt they will get the same chance we got :/

I really have no idea what you're driving at.

---------- Post added 2013-01-24 at 09:27 AM ----------

I have the radical idea that dolphins should be considered sentient and given protective rights, along with many of the great apes.

I think this is increasingly becoming a non-radical idea. I'm generally inclined to agree with it.

[Deleted]

it's possible they are slightly sentient. i mean, they speak to each other with what seems to be language, they do things like this quite frequently. perhaps they are at the level we were just before caveman days. what i meant though, they could have gone on to be what we are now. but because humans are the way we are... i doubt they will get the chance to do so.

The problem that dolphins have with evolving in a similar way to humans are mainly the fact that they have no hands. They can not use tools.
The human opposable thumb is what let us really progress beyond any other animals. We could make more and more advanced tools, which meant that higher and higher intelligence was needed to invent, create and use those tools. The tools also gave a HUGE advantage to the smartest individuals and groups, meaning that our evolution was very focused.

[Noomz]

I really have no idea what you're driving at.

---------- Post added 2013-01-24 at 09:27 AM ----------



I think this is increasingly becoming a non-radical idea. I'm generally inclined to agree with it.

Even if neither species does half of the things we get up to, they are still emotional, social and intelligent beings. They feel joy, they are great learners (apes can be taught sign language), there's even a chimp that can "make" a fire and knows that cooking things with it. So even if they don't build cities or anything like that, they're definetly deserving of protection and rights like humans are.

Here's the chimp and his use of fire. He actually uses a lighter, all on his own. Ofcourse he has been taught after having shown interest in it, but he keeps on doing it on his own volition.


---------- Post added 2013-01-24 at 04:18 PM ----------

The problem that dolphins have with evolving in a similar way to humans are mainly the fact that they have no hands. They can not use tools.
The human opposable thumb is what let us really progress beyond any other animals. We could make more and more advanced tools, which meant that higher and higher intelligence was needed to invent, create and use those tools. The tools also gave a HUGE advantage to the smartest individuals and groups, meaning that our evolution was very focused.

Though dolphins (Porpoises) use their brain for different things, like sonar, something we're incapable of. I don't think dolphins and apes are less worthy of respect just because they can't make tools. They're clearly superior to us in other aspects.
But you're right, our evolution became very focused once we started making tools. The evolution of dolphins is completely different, as you say.

[kivipää]

A rare pink kind of dolphin actually has 40% more brain mass than humans.

Brain mass, hovever, isn't indicative of inteelignece/sentience. First of all, a larger body requires more brain capacity simply to run all the non-concious processes of the body. Secondly, human brain is close to an optimum size in terms of the kind of brains that have evolved on this planet. Larger brains suffer from more lag and signal decay as the distances of communication between nerve ends in the brain grow, and simply putting more nerve endings into the same space would make the brain incredibly vulnerable to physical trauma, to the point where simply banging your head to that cupboard door could cause massive, permanent brain damage. It's why brain/body mass ration hasn't been a concistent indicator of relative intelligence levels, and blue whale isn't the smartest thing on the planet.

[Anakso]

Dolphins can be pretty mean and drown humans, the sickest part is that they will keep smiling while murdering :S
I love dolphins!

Not all dolphins, just the evil ones. Don't stereotype!

[Grimfrost]

Brain mass, hovever, isn't indicative of inteelignece/sentience. First of all, a larger body requires more brain capacity simply to run all the non-concious processes of the body. Secondly, human brain is close to an optimum size in terms of the kind of brains that have evolved on this planet. Larger brains suffer from more lag and signal decay as the distances of communication between nerve ends in the brain grow, and simply putting more nerve endings into the same space would make the brain incredibly vulnerable to physical trauma, to the point where simply banging your head to that cupboard door could cause massive, permanent brain damage. It's why brain/body mass ration hasn't been a concistent indicator of relative intelligence levels, and blue whale isn't the smartest thing on the planet.

I know that but it has been proven dophins have their own language, chitchat, have sex for pleasure and are really smart.

[lockedout]

Is it wrong I like animals more than people?

[Deleted]

A rare pink kind of dolphin actually has 40% more brain mass than humans.

Yes, but they are also endangered and only live, as far as I remember, in the Amazon River.

---------- Post added 2013-01-24 at 06:02 PM ----------

Is it wrong I like animals more than people?

No, not at all.

[obdigore]

Yes, but they are also endangered and only live, as far as I remember, in the Amazon River.

They do sound delicious...

[Gamdwelf]

The problem that dolphins have with evolving in a similar way to humans are mainly the fact that they have no hands. They can not use tools.
The human opposable thumb is what let us really progress beyond any other animals. We could make more and more advanced tools, which meant that higher and higher intelligence was needed to invent, create and use those tools. The tools also gave a HUGE advantage to the smartest individuals and groups, meaning that our evolution was very focused.

Other apes and Raccoon have opposable thumbs. They aren't using super complex tools.