Dolphins

And for our last news item today, a special report from Diane Hassan on an animal that is rapidly becoming known as ‘man’s best friend’, the dolphin.

Last week, a 28-year-old diver who went swimming in the Red Sea with a group of dolphins, learnt the hard way just how caring these creatures can be. When the diver was suddenly attached by a shark, they saved him by forming a circle around him and frightening the shark away.

It’s not the first time such a rescue has happened and it’s been known for some time that dolphins will do for humans what they do for their own kind. They are, in fact, the only animals in the world whose brains match ours in terms of size, and their intelligence and ability to feel emotion continue to fascinate scientists and doctors alike.

For some time now, their healing powers have been well known. A swim with a group of dolphins, for example, is a recognised ‘medical’ activity for everyday problems such as stress. But some dolphins are playing a far more serious medical role for us than that.

Amanda Morton, who suffered from a life-threatening illness, argued that being with dolphins saved her life because they were able to read her feelings. ‘They knew how I was feeling,’ she was quoted as saying. And it’s the idea that they actually ‘care’, that they are gentle, happy creatures that want to befriend us, which has led to projects with children as well.

In one such project, dolphins are being used to help children who are slow learners learn to read. The dolphins do things like carrying small boards on their noses. These boards show words or pictures which the children are asked to identify. When the children get it right, they spend more time swimming with the dolphins and touching them and they see this as a reward.

So what is it that makes contact with dolphins so powerful? They certainly have an engaging smile… in each jaw they have up to 52 teeth, but rather than frightening us to death, it is one of the warmest greetings in the world!

They’re also fantastic swimmers to watch… the spotted dolphin has been observed reaching 20 miles an hour and keeping this up for two days at a time. And they know they’re good at it so they show off in front of humans by diving in and out of the water and showing us just how much fun they’re having.

They’re great communicators too. They make all kinds of fascinating high-pitched noises. They catch fish, for example, by sending out sound waves which tell them everything they need to know –where it is, what it is and how big it is.

The only creatures that concern dolphins, in fact, are sharks and man. We don’t necessarily harm them on purpose, but we trap them in fishing nets and we pollute the water they swim in. Pollution, in fact, is one of the dolphin’s greatest problems.

So with all the good they do for us, isn’t it time we started caring about them?