Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Dancing Dolphins in the Wild Show They're Smarter Than We Once Thought


I always thought dolphins had lots of fun, and this video just proves it. Interestingly though, this footage of wild dolphins performing tricks proves a former "kept" dolphin passed on her knowledge, which is a first for behavioral fun.
The tail-walking is believed to have been passed down a generation, from an adult female called Billie who spent time in Australian captivity 22 years ago. She supposedly taught another adult female, Wave, as well as their offspring Tallula, Bianca, Hope and Bubbles (I'm not suggesting they were lesbian dolphins—there's not word on whether the fathers learned the tail-walking too).
According to the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society of Australia, they're tail-walking several times a day, just for fun, which sure beats trawling RSS and eating endless bowls of cereal, doesn't it?
Not only is this cool for visual reasons (dancing dolphins!), but it also shows that the animals don't just pass on practical knowledge to one another such as ways to hunt, but also "unnecessary" practices such as having some good old-fashioned fun

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