Why are dolphins nice to people?

Rye · Post by **Rye** » 2008-01-26 09:33pm

Well, the title says it all, really. Has this ever been adequately explained?

Superman · Post by **Superman** » 2008-01-26 09:41pm

They don't want to become sushi.

Lusankya · Post by **Lusankya** » 2008-01-26 09:44pm

I always thought it was because we kinda looked like dolphins, except with arms and legs, and we went around in interesting-looking floaty things, which were clearly not-natural.

Plus, we throw nets and stuff into the water, and when that disturbs the fish, it's easier for the dolphins to catch their lunch.

loomer · Post by **loomer** » 2008-01-26 09:46pm

It's probably the same reason we're so nice to them- We're a curious thing of beauty to them. We peer down from our boats, racing alongside them to get a look, they follow us for the same.

Or maybe they're lulling us into security for their inevitable violent conquest of the surface world.

Drooling Iguana · Post by **Drooling Iguana** » 2008-01-26 10:49pm

They're just trying to warn us to get off the planet ASAP.

TithonusSyndrome · Post by **TithonusSyndrome** » 2008-01-26 11:10pm

Who says they're always nice?

Ukrainian emergency workers saved a drunken swimmer in the Black Sea from an attack by a pod of killer dolphins who were trying to drown him.

The man was reportedly "heavily under the influence of alcohol" at the time. He had braved the near-freezing dolphin-infested waters in the belief they would be good for his health. That's his story and he's sticking to it.

The man was some 30m from the shore when observers noticed his distress as he was harried by a feeding group.

asyl Tenishchev, a spokesman at the Ukrainian Emergency Situations Ministry, said: "If our guys had not been there, the victim surely would have been drowned. The dolphins probably were feeding on fish by cornering schools against the pier and the breakwater, and they saw the man as competition."

Knife · Post by **Knife** » 2008-01-26 11:21pm

We don't poss a threat to them. Or atleast an immediate visable threat to them so they have no reason to be hostile. AFAIK, they're not territorial nor do they eat large organisms like humans so there is nothing about us that would trigger a hunters reflex or instinct.

I would assume we're a curiosity to them.

Ritterin Sophia · Post by **Ritterin Sophia** » 2008-01-27 12:18am

They want to get into our knickers.

Shinova · Post by **Shinova** » 2008-01-27 02:40am

Knife wrote:nor do they eat large organisms like humans so there is nothing about us that would trigger a hunters reflex or instinct.

Orcas are basically large dolphins in a way and I've never heard of any outstanding attack on a human by a wild orca. Granted, humans are typically larger than seals.

Hawkwings · Post by **Hawkwings** » 2008-01-27 02:57am

General Schatten wrote:They want to get into our knickers.

Oh man, thanks a lot for that

Zixinus · Post by **Zixinus** » 2008-01-27 05:16am

They want to get into our knickers.

I don't know what's worse. That the poor dolphin mistakes the guy for his mate or that the guy seems to be ENJOYING it.

Rye · Post by **Rye** » 2008-01-27 08:59am

TithonusSyndrome wrote:Who says they're always nice?

Nobody. However, they're considerably nicer than most wild land-based mammals.

Post by **Broomstick** » 2008-01-27 09:12am

There have been a few recorded bottlenose dolphins who were either indifferent or hostile to humans, and a couple attacks, not all of which were obviously provoked.

But for the most part - we aren't food to them (except possibly orcas), and dolphins are curious about their environment. If the humans start tossing fish to the dolphins.... all the better.

FA Xerrik · Post by **FA Xerrik** » 2008-01-27 11:18am

Peter Benchley recounted a story of a short-nosed dolphin using it's sonar to ascertain the sexual state of both himself and his family. Sensing one adult male (Benchley), one sexually mature female (his wife) and the two children, the male dolphin proceeded to ram full speed into Benchley's groin in an attempt to "disable" him and gain access to the potential mate. So, perhaps they do want in on our trousers.

Shroom Man 777 · Post by **Shroom Man 777** » 2008-01-27 12:17pm

That is amazing!

Goddamn, I wonder if there are any reports of other interspecies attempts at psychosexual behavior. Like, do dolphins also try to rape sea turtles or shit?

Zixinus · Post by **Zixinus** » 2008-01-27 04:09pm

Peter Benchley recounted a story of a short-nosed dolphin using it's sonar to ascertain the sexual state of both himself and his family. Sensing one adult male (Benchley), one sexually mature female (his wife) and the two children, the male dolphin proceeded to ram full speed into Benchley's groin in an attempt to "disable" him and gain access to the potential mate. So, perhaps they do want in on our trousers.

I can see plate groin-protectors being popular among divers and other marine biologist on the field.

More seriously, it is rather disturbing to see that a dolphin can't tell the difference between his/her own kin and of a human.

Zablorg · Post by **Zablorg** » 2008-01-27 04:35pm

Who says they can't?

andrewgpaul · Post by **andrewgpaul** » 2008-01-27 08:15pm

It's probably a biased sample issue; all those drowning swimmers who were ignored by dolphins, or who were actively drowned by them, obviously didn't live to tell the tale, unlike the ones who were rescued.

Post by **Broomstick** » 2008-01-27 11:09pm

Shroom Man 777 wrote:Goddamn, I wonder if there are any reports of other interspecies attempts at psychosexual behavior. Like, do dolphins also try to rape sea turtles or shit?

Yeah, actually there have been documented instances of just that. Which has a lot to do with why dolphins are kept in their own tank at large aquaria instead of in one of those multispecies reconstructed biosystems.

Ted C · Post by **Ted C** » 2008-01-28 09:30am

Zuul wrote:Well, the title says it all, really. Has this ever been adequately explained?

Why do humans sometimes rescue wild animals from predators or other dangers? Maybe, as mammals flopping about in the water, we sometimes trigger in dolphins the same instincts that prompt them to assist other dolphins in trouble.

Shroom Man 777 · Post by **Shroom Man 777** » 2008-01-28 10:09am

Broomstick wrote:Yeah, actually there have been documented instances of just that. Which has a lot to do with why dolphins are kept in their own tank at large aquaria instead of in one of those multispecies reconstructed biosystems.

That is so awesome

I'd love to read material that deals with this stuff.

Ritterin Sophia · Post by **Ritterin Sophia** » 2008-01-28 11:28am

I'm thinking of taking a picture of a dolphin humping someone and making it into a motivator. How does this sound:

Dolphin
The Sex Offender of the Seas

Post by **Alyrium Denryle** » 2008-01-28 12:51pm

General Schatten wrote:I'm thinking of taking a picture of a dolphin humping someone and making it into a motivator. How does this sound:

Dolphin
The Sex Offender of the Seas

*chatters excitedly*

Seriously though, they are... And more than that. Dolphins really are more like a gang of street toughs. Sometimes they will help people stranded. Other times they will rob them. There have been many recorded instances where bottlenose dolphins will visciously attack other porpoises, for no reason. They dont eat the same range of prey, etc. They just gang up on and bludgeon to death a smaller dolphin of a different species. They have been known to attack humans that way too...

What I want to see is how well these attacks coincide with populations that have a historic symbiotic relationship with local humans. I would expect this stuff to happen more if they dont have close ties.

Rye · Post by **Rye** » 2008-01-28 02:43pm

Actually, I recall watching a documentary on the BBC about dolphins that said, essentially, the nomadic pods tend to be more antisocial and cruel, with stationary pods being much more likely to be nice.

VT-16 · Post by **VT-16** » 2008-01-28 04:35pm

Dolphins really are more like a gang of street toughs. Sometimes they will help people stranded. Other times they will rob them.

*Nice beach you have here. Would be a shame if something were to happen to it, wouldn't it? I mean, accidents do happen... Boats tip over... Schools of fish disappear... For twenty percent of all the catches, we'll make sure nothing happens...*

:P

StarDestroyer.Net BBS

Why are dolphins nice to people?

Why are dolphins nice to people?

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