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A Short History of Dolphins |
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History of Dolphins
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Written by Administrator
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Dolphins are magical creatures who have been on Earth for some 25 million years, according to fossil evidence. The first recorded studies of dolphins and dolphin behavior was undertaken by the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle (384-322 BC) in Historia Animalium, (The History of Animals). Aristotle was the first to correctly claim that dolphins were mammals. He observed that they bore their young alive and suckled them, breathed air and communicated by underwater sounds.
Through the ages, people and dolphins have had a special bond. There are many well-documented stories throughout history of ancient mariners who were guided to safety by dolphins. Dolphin insignias were commonly used on ancient ships for protection. Ancient artifacts show dolphins being used in decorative ways. Prehistoric engraved images of dolphins have been found in South Africa. One shows a man swimming with dolphins. At the palace of Knossos, an Aegean civilization, the bathroom of the queen was decorated with a frieze of dolphins. This palace is dated at 1600 BC. Dolphins have been found on funeral frescoes dated from the sixth century BC. Greeks decorated their ceramics with dolphin images in the fifth century BC. Forty Greek cities had images of dolphins on their coins.
The Roman historian, Pliny the Elder, tells the story of a boy who rode on the back of a dolphin called Simo. Roman coins dated at 74 BC depict this dolphin scene. There is a similar story from Greece about a dolphin named Lassos, who fell in love with a boy and took him far out to sea for dolphin rides. As recently as October 2000, it was reported that a small boy drowning off the coast of Italy was rescued and brought ashore by a dolphin.
In mythology, it is said that Apollo first appeared at Delphi, the site of the oracle, in the form of a dolphin. In Greek, Delphi means dolphin. Taras, son of Neptune, founded a city called Tarento on the pot he was carried to safety by a dolphin. 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.
Plutarch, around 75 AD, told the story of Korianos, a native of Asia Minor. Korianos pleaded for the life of a dolphin who was caught in a fishing net. The dolphin was saved. Later, Korianos was shipwrecked and his life was saved by a dolphin.
Throughout history, there are stories told of the relationship between dolphin and man, particularly of dolphin helping man catch fish. Oppian, a Greek poet of the second century AD, told stores of dolphins pushing fish into the nets of fishermen.
The aborigines of Australia have had many connections to dolphins. The natives of Amity Point in Moreton Bay called the dolphins to them to help them with fishing. The people would sit on a hill waiting to spot mullet. When they saw a school they ran to the water and splashed the water with their spears. This action called the dolphins who would swim in and block the retreat of the mullet, thus allowing the natives to catch all the mullet they could use. And the dolphins shared the mullet.
In the northern part of Australia there is an island in the Gulf of Carpentaria called Groote Eylandt. The natives there consider themselves to be the direct descendants of dolphins. The dolphin is celebrated in their stories and ceremonies.
There is another aborigine tribe living on Mornington Island in the Gulf of Carpentaria who call themselves the Dolphin People. Young boys go through a series of tests as they grow up in order to determine their sensitivity and intuition. The most sensitive boy will become the tribal shaman. The Dolphin People believe the shaman is a dolphin spirit who has chosen to reincarnate in the form of a man. The shaman performs a complex series of whistles designed to bring the dolphin closer to shore. When the shaman stops whistling, he makes a mind-to-mind connection with the dolphins.
To the Maoris of New Zealand, the dolphin is sacred. Authors Amanda Cochrane and Karena Callen, in their book Dolphins and Their Power to Heal, quote one Maori elder who described dolphins as being a "human being in the sea." They are only to be called upon in very difficult times.
The Polynesian people of the Gilbert Islands called dolphins to them. They would enter a dream-like state and then seek the dolphins out in their homes. They would invite the dolphins to a feast in the village. If the invitation were worded correctly, the dolphins would swim into the bay. The Gilbert Islanders then rushed into the water and dragged the dolphins onto shore whereupon the dolphins became the main course at the feast. The natives believed that the dolphins who came did so voluntarily with the knowledge that their bodies would be used to nourish the islanders.
In Native American traditions, dolphins symbolized manna or life force. It was thought that the dolphin was the "keeper of the sacred breath of life and was a healing totem used to release emotional tension" (from Dolphins and Their Power to Heal). Totem Power Stones say a dolphin is indicative of kindness, play, and is the bridge between man and ocean.
Dolphins are the symbol of rebirth. Christ is sometimes represented in the form of a dolphin.
So, what is it about dolphins that strikes such a chord in humans? We view dolphins in anthropomorphic terms. Dolphins love to play and seem to take great joy in the playing. We would say that dolphins live in the moment. They are compassionate, caring, loving and gentle. Dolphins will assist ailing dolphins to the surface so that they can breathe. They have never been known to attack man in the wild. They get annoyed with each other, but always appear to reach a settlement of a dispute quickly and don't appear to hold grudges. They are highly intelligent. They are beautiful and graceful in the water. Some say we are so attracted to dolphins because they embody the qualities we want in ourselves. As Rosie O'Donnell said on one of her programs, "It's such a magical, mystical thing when you see dolphins."
In the animal kingdom there are many different groups or "classes" such as reptiles, birds, amphibians and mammals. All mammals have five characteristics in common:
warm-blooded
breath air
give birth to live young
born with hair
nurse their young
Dolphins are one of many marine mammals that inhabit the sea, others being manatees, otters, sea lions and whales.
All the whales, dolphins and porpoises belong to the order called Cetacea, which can be further divided into three smaller groups known as suborders. The Archeocetes were the ancient whales and are now extinct. The second group, the Mysticetes, include, among others, the gigantic blue, grey and humpback whales. Members of this suborder have two blowholes and instead of teeth, have a series of comb-like plates called baleen which they use to strain plankton and shrimp from the water as a food source.
The largest suborder is the Odontocetes , also known as the toothed whales which includes groups such as the sperm whales, belugas and dolphins. The number of teeth may vary with the species, but all use their teeth for catching, not chewing, their food. There are ten different families of toothed whales.
Though many people often confuse the two, dolphins and porpoises are different families of toothed whales. Divided into six different species, porpoises are generally smaller than dolphins, darker in color, and found in deeper and cooler waters. Porpoises usually lack the rostrum or "bottlenose" that most dolphins have. Another distinct trait of porpoises is their teeth: they have flat, spade-shaped teeth versus the conical-shaped teeth of dolphins.
Finally, there are about thirty species of dolphins found in our oceans, a few being the white-sided, spotted and bottlenose. It is the Atlantic bottlenose dolphin, Tursiops truncatus, that is most well known to people.
These animals tend to live in the shallow waters in which people frequently choose to swim and boat. This species of dolphin also does very well under human care and are usually your marine park performers.
Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphins
The Atlantic bottlenose dolphin can be found throughout the temperate, tropical and sub-tropical waters of the Atlantic Ocean. With a great deal of variety in size, appearance and behaviors, these dolphins are further divided into approximately nine different sub-species. For example, the bottlenose dolphins off the United Kingdom may weigh up to 1200 pounds and migrate short distances to locate food or evade predators. In the shallow Bahamian waters, Atlantic bottlenose dolphins grow up to nine feet in length weighing up to 500 pounds. Average lifespan for this species in the wild is approximately 30 years.
Research confirms that these animals currently live equally as long under human care and, in many cases, live longer, healthier lives than their counterparts in the wild. In marine parks and aquariums, dolphins are protected from the dangers of pollution, predators, and events such as El Nino, which triggered food shortages for many marine mammals in the late 1990’s. The oldest dolphin under human care lived to be 48 years of age. Due to public display, advances in animal care and medicine have greatly contributed to the improved health of cetaceans under human care, as well as to the successful rehabilitation and release of stranded, injured animals.
In general dolphins are well known for their bottlenose or rostrum with the built-in smile. The rostrum is a bony extension of their skull used to touch and move objects since they don’t have hands. The hair on a dolphin’s upper rostrum - a "mustache" of sorts - falls out either just before the animal is born or shortly thereafter.
Inside the mouth, 88 to 120 conically-shaped teeth can be found. Remember, dolphins do not chew their food. The teeth are used to grasp prey before swallowing it whole. The stomach of a dolphin is highly acidic, capable of digesting whole foods. As far as diet, these dolphins are known as "catholic" feeders, eating whatever fish species is locally available. Primarily they eat schooling fish - herring, mackerel, mullet or capelin to name a few - but also some crustaceans and molluscs, such as squid or shrimp.
Vocalizations
The blowhole on top of the dolphin’s head is their nose. Dolphins can remain submerged up to 8 minutes but generally take a breath about every 30 seconds. In fact the blowhole is the only place they breathe. The blowhole, not the mouth, is also the only place from which sounds come. Beneath the opening of the blowhole are three pairs of nasal air sacs and by squeezing air from one sac to another, dolphins produce sounds. Vocalizations are broken down into three main types: buzzes, clicks and whistles. |
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