Dolphin Behavior: Is It Almost Human?
These beautiful marine mammals are beautiful and intelligent, and have always been the object of our admiration. Several studies and research have been conducted on the behavior of dolphins to better understand the life of the most famous cetaceans in the world.
Compared to other living beings, these animals have been shown to possess a marked intelligence. There are even those who claim that they are fully aware of themselves. As we will see in the following article, surprisingly, the behavior of dolphins appears , in some ways, very similar to that of humans. Don’t believe it? Then read on.
The extraordinary behavior of the dolphins
Studies conducted on dolphins, whales and porpoises have shown that these animals have an almost human behavior ; this seems to be related to the size of their brains. To reach these conclusions, information was collected on about 90 different species of dolphins, whales and porpoises.
The results of this research have uncovered a number of dolphin behaviors that bear many similarities to those of people. Let’s see them together, one by one:
They work together for mutual benefit
Dolphins are very sociable animals and live in groups. The reason for this lies in the fact that they know they can increase their chances of survival. They work together and all members of the pack benefit from it. Both to reach a place, to look for food and to perform other tasks necessary for their existence.
They transmit information to the new generations
When new puppies are born, the older ones, regardless of whether they are their parents or other members of the herd, teach them hunting techniques and even how to use various tools they can find on the sea floor.
They hunt in groups
They say that unity is strength. And, this is a saying that dolphins follow to the letter. Whenever they go hunting, they organize themselves into groups to increase the success of the hunt. Afterwards, they have no problem distributing food among all those who cooperated. If not all participants are satisfied, they will continue to hunt.
They talk to each other
Today it is known that dolphins emit peculiar sounds that are used to communicate. Well, these sounds are their way of speaking to each other, and also depending on the region they live in, they can be different.
Exclusive whistles
In addition to the general language of the dolphins, each of the specimens has a characteristic whistle that allows them to differentiate themselves from each other. We could say that it is like a kind of identifying, personal sound: a kind of “name”.
A strong maternal instinct
If the dolphins find abandoned babies, which are not theirs, they tend to take them into custody. As in the case of humans. This is a very curious attitude that has been found in very few other species.
They cooperate with other species
These Odontocetes (aka cetaceans with teeth) like to interact with other species and may even collaborate with them in foraging or other tasks. But contact and interaction do not always have to do with activities of a practical nature. Dolphins love to socialize and play.
They play often
No matter how old they are, they love to play with the little ones and with each other. This shows that dolphins are looking for something else besides swimming, feeding and breeding. They need distraction, an active and enjoyable life that makes them feel happy.
All of these behaviors have a lot to do with us and, as we said before, these cognitive abilities are guaranteed by the larger size of their exceptionally developed brain.
In short, it has been shown that cetaceans and dolphins are extremely intelligent and that they are the species closest to the behavior of humans and primates on earth. One of the study’s co-authors, who came to this conclusion, states:
It is obvious that due to their nature they will not be able to match the practical results obtained by man. But we don’t really know how far their intelligence can go. What is certainly clear to everyone is that the behavior of dolphins makes them a unique species in the world.
