Dolphin (including Orca) intelligence

Today I will be talking about dolphin, and orca, intelligence. But first, BREAKING NEWS.

Ric has been over in Taiji waiting to attend a conference with the Taiji Mayor, to openly discuss the dolphin hunt and the threat of mercury poisoning to the Japanese people due to the sale of the dolphin meat. The conference was meant to be a open and free place to discuss concerns on both sides, and was also meant to have free media. However, the questions that were due to be asked to the Mayor ended up having to be submitted and certified a week in advance, and there were also very rigorous restrictions on the press and media coverage. The meeting was due to take place on the 3rd Nov, but Ric released a statement late on the 2nd explaining the corruption and cover-ups within the conference, so he instead boycotted the meeting and went back to the Cove to make a stand against the Mayor and indeed all those involved. You can see the statement at his blog.

My best wishes to Ric and Linc, and indeed all those who are over there trying to make a difference for dolphins, the people of Taiji and the people of Japan, good luck to you all at this difficult time.

     So, onto todays' topic- dolphin intelligence. This is quite a large topic again, but I am only going to go over it briefly, as quite frankly I am no scientist. To begin with then, how smart are dolphins? And why are they so smart? Well, this is the part of the argument that deals with the 'sciency' bit, so I shall get it out the way first. In February of this year, there was a conference held by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), in which a couple of dolphin experts spoke on behalf of dolphin intelligence. One of these experts was Dr. Lori Marino, from Emory University, who put forward the argument that dolphins are on par with primates, both in brain size and capacity. She explained how she had performed MRI scans on dolphins and found that their brain size was second in mass to the human brain, when regarding the body size/brain size ration. In other words, the dolphin's brain is five times larger than is expected for their body size, whereas a humans is only two more than that, at seven times bigger. This is quite a revelation, as the fact is that many still refer to dolphins as 'cute' and 'smiley', when in reality they are so much more intelligent than anyone has ever imagined. Dr. Marino also discussed how dolphins have a larger neocortical volume than humans, and an abundance of 'spindle cell' nerves, meaning that their emotional and intellectual connections are hugely similar to primates and indeed humans. They are highly self-aware and sophisticated, and also form intricate and complex bonds within their family group, and their own kind. Dr. Marino explained the results of her 2001 study, which showed that dolphins can recognise themselves in a mirror, proving that they have self-awareness just like we humans do. 

       This awareness of themselves and their surroundings makes it hard to believe how much they feel and understand when they are watching and listening to their family and friends getting slaughtered in their own habitat. They must understand, apprehend and dread their impending death, something which is truly horrible to comprehend. The argument of self-awareness is one that is verified by Ric O'Barry, who explains that Cathy used to watch herself on TV, and even recognise when it was another dolphin being shown. Another speaker was Dr. Diana Reiss, who is from the Hunter College, City University of New York. She showed some videos of dolphins seeing themselves in a mirror, as well as using symbols on a large board to receive specific objects that they wanted. She also explained that baby dolphins could recognise themselves form one year, whereas our beloved domestic dogs and cats cannot. Dr. Marino also went on to explain just how dolphins got to be so intelligent and intellectually developed, the first reason occurring 39 million years ago, when odontocete's (cetaceans) brains began to develop in size. Then 15 million years ago, another change, which occurred due to the need for survival- the dolphins' communications capacity developed further, due to change in their social ecology. So, it seems as though their species has advanced and intellectually developed just as much as our own. Which begs the question, why do we still insist on keeping them in captivity?

Dolphin brain size. (Picture from Google images)

A good video about dolphin intelligence can also be found here.

     Captivity has about a million arguments against it, both ethically, morally and scientifically. Yet for some reason they are never enough. So here I will be discussing a mere selection of the arguments against the captivity of cetaceans, on the basis of their advanced intelligence. The captivity of cetaceans is widely questioned, yet more recently it has not just been about the guilty conscience or the moral difficulty that it puts upon us humans, but the actual scientific implications and consequences of captivity that has sparked the most controversy. It was argued at the AAAS conference by Dr. Marino that the mental strains put upon dolphins in captivity is 'potentially psychologically harmful' and that the captivity itself 'presents a misinformed picture of their natural intellectual capacities', in other words, even the best captive conditions in the world are still nothing like their natural habitat and that going to see a dolphin show does not do their immense natural intelligence justice. The boring, confined and lonely conditions are one of the main problems with keeping cetaceans alive in captivity, as they can often develop stress-induced disorders which can lead to death. An example of this would be Hugo the orca, who ended up killing himself by banging his head against the pool wall, and also Poncho the dolphin, who got so bored and distressed he would eat footballs whole and pop them in his mouth to swallow them. When he passed away suddenly they examined his stomach and found several balls, amongst a whole plethora of other objects. This vice could only have been picked up out of stress and boredom, proving that the habitat Poncho was forced to live in did not provide him with enough intellectual, emotional and physical stimulation. There are a whole selection of cases like this, as the emotional starvation and lack of psychological stimuli takes its toll on these sensitive creatures. 

        

       As I have previously quoted in the Captivity topic, Randall L. Eaton argues: 'For the most curious, exploratory, mobile, playful creature on the planet, an aquarium must be very boring indeed.' From the same book, The Animal Ethics Reader, another academic Mark Simmonds explains that the bottlenose dolphin may in fact be one of the 'most sophisticated non-human imitator, suggesting that their ability to remember certain verbal and non-verbal characteristics and imitate them is a 'seemingly unique combination of abilities among non-human animals'. In other words, it is impressive enough that they can imitate each other's behaviour, let alone a humans. He also explains that dolphins have a talent of manipulating objects, despite obviously having no fingers or thumbs. An example of this are the dolphins of Sharky Bay in Australia, who are often seen carrying sponges in their mouths when looking for food on the sea bed, in order to protect themselves from the spines of sea urchins. This type of behaviour is not only extremely logical, but also very resourceful, further proving the immense intelligence of these clever creatures. Another more famous example of this manipulation would be the bubble-blowing that is seen underwater. The dolphin needs to use self-monitoring techniques in order to manipulate and produce the desired type of bubble, which shows that they are capable of forward-planning, and thus reasoning.

 A dolphin playing with bubble rings, often a type of play and escapism. (Photo from Google images)

    However, the most important argument Simmonds addresses is that of the cetaceans emotional intelligence- that even though it would be easier for certain people to believe they 'can't have feelings', they are in fact just like us, and feel pain, stress, love and sadness. He points out that they feel, and show, parental love, altruism and grief, probably the most 'human' feelings that could be felt, by animal or human. The fact that orcas, and indeed dolphins, stay in their family groups throughout their lives is not unknown, and  the case of the two male orcas who swam to the spots they used to frequent with their older female companion (thought to be their mother), in order to grieve really hits home, as it is such a common way of dealing with grief in the 'human world'. He also explains that they are capable of showing parental love and joy, as exhibited by orcas and proven by N. A. Rose, an experienced field scientist. Another quite beautiful finding was that of the false killer whales in 1977, who rallied round their injured group companion in order to protect him from a shark that was swimming nearby. Every time the shark approached, they would 'flail their tails' to warn it off, and despite the risk of sun exposure and stranding, they kept that way for three whole days until he passed away. Another key instance of this protective behaviour is the capturing of the orcas of Puget Sound in 1970, the capture in which Lolita was taken. 

    There have been many reports on the drowning of mothers who were thrashing about so much in order to protect their babies from captures that they drowned themselves. These acts of kindness and devotion are surely what every person can relate to. To sum up and indeed strengthen all these findings, Simmonds warns of the 'interspecies communication problems', i.e. the fact that cetaceans in captivity are so ignored and misunderstood, that their displays of stress, anxiety and aggression are totally pointless and go unheard. An example of this would be the case of the dolphins who display 'humping' behaviour, which I discussed in the Captivity post earlier. This thought that cetaceans are 'self-aware' is the argument for their right to life, as discussed by Paola Cavalieri in the Animal Ethics Reader. In her essay, Whales as Persons, she describes how their self-awareness and self-consciousness should grant them a right to life as they can understand and dread their 'discontinuance' on this earth.

A pod of orcas, baby in tow. (Photo from Google images)

    The differences between a captive life and a free life are too many to even list, and there is no denying how detrimental captivity is to cetaceans. And now we understand their ability to feel, to love and to hurt, surely it should mean the end of captivity? Of whaling? Of capturing them from their homes, away from their families?

No. As usual, human interests come first. That is profit to me and you. They mask it under 'research', 'education', 'pest control', but these animals are smart enough and sensitive enough to suffer at the repercussions of those interests. And what gives us humans the monopoly over other animals? They feel as we feel, and that means they should be shown the same compassion, mercy and sensitivity that we wish to be shown.