Dolphins as Entertainers
Sociology of Animals
Term Paper
Dolphins as Entertainers
When one goes on vacation to a tropical island or visits an aquarium such as Sea world, we all wish to see the dolphins splashing and performing tricks for our entertainment. Although they are loveable creatures they are treated unfairly by society. Dolphins are wild sea mammals that are captured from their natural habitat by humans and forced to live in small habitats in marine mammal parks or swim with dolphin attractions where humans pay to swim with them. The separation of dolphins and their pods may have an emotional effect on them which might be the cause of the drastic difference in life span between wild life dolphins and captive dolphins.
Baby dolphins are born 90-130 cms and will grow to about 4 meters. Their physical features allow the dolphin to survive in the wild. Their skin is very smooth which allows them to move through water with ease. The smooth skin feature also helps the dolphin reduce heat loss. They are built to swim with fast speeds through the water. Their pectoral flippers are used to guide them as they swim through the water. They have a strong fin that allows them to swim in an up and down movement. This fin is good for hunting for food. They can leap high heights and swim great depths in the ocean. They use their blow horns to breathe under water for long periods of time.
“According to Scientists at Emory University the cerebral cortex and the neo-cortex of bottlenose dolphins were so large that dolphins' cognitive capacity is second only to humans”. This means dolphins are very smart mammals. Research has also determined the brain of the dolphin is two separate brains. When dolphins sleep, one side of their brain is still active while the other completely shuts down. The active side of the brain is on alert for predators or any danger to the dolphin. According to researcher Carol J. Howard, “Dolphins never sleep with both parts of their brain simultaneously.” Each of the
Term Paper
Dolphins as Entertainers
When one goes on vacation to a tropical island or visits an aquarium such as Sea world, we all wish to see the dolphins splashing and performing tricks for our entertainment. Although they are loveable creatures they are treated unfairly by society. Dolphins are wild sea mammals that are captured from their natural habitat by humans and forced to live in small habitats in marine mammal parks or swim with dolphin attractions where humans pay to swim with them. The separation of dolphins and their pods may have an emotional effect on them which might be the cause of the drastic difference in life span between wild life dolphins and captive dolphins.
Baby dolphins are born 90-130 cms and will grow to about 4 meters. Their physical features allow the dolphin to survive in the wild. Their skin is very smooth which allows them to move through water with ease. The smooth skin feature also helps the dolphin reduce heat loss. They are built to swim with fast speeds through the water. Their pectoral flippers are used to guide them as they swim through the water. They have a strong fin that allows them to swim in an up and down movement. This fin is good for hunting for food. They can leap high heights and swim great depths in the ocean. They use their blow horns to breathe under water for long periods of time.
“According to Scientists at Emory University the cerebral cortex and the neo-cortex of bottlenose dolphins were so large that dolphins' cognitive capacity is second only to humans”. This means dolphins are very smart mammals. Research has also determined the brain of the dolphin is two separate brains. When dolphins sleep, one side of their brain is still active while the other completely shuts down. The active side of the brain is on alert for predators or any danger to the dolphin. According to researcher Carol J. Howard, “Dolphins never sleep with both parts of their brain simultaneously.” Each of the