This is a sad commentary on our society

Endangered baby dolphin dies after swimmers pass it around for selfies

Video footage of last week’s incident shows the animal being scooped up by a man and quickly surrounded by a curious mob eager to touch the animal.

The miniature dolphin, no more than a few feet long, is eventually left to die in the mud, where it can be seen lying motionless.

At no point in the footage does it appear that anyone in the crowd intervened or attempted to return the animal to the water.

These people should be ashamed. Granted, separated from its mother, it might not have survived if it had been put back in the sea, but at least it would have had a better chance than being manhandled by a mob who thought only of themselves and how cool the whole thing was rather than the welfare of a baby animal and left it to die in the mud.

What happens when you get two curious species together?

This....



Or if you need the link: Cat and Dolphins playing together

Heartbreaking, no matter what the cause

Peru says 5,000 birds, nearly 900 dolphins dead

The Peruvian government said Wednesday that 5,000 birds, mostly pelicans, and nearly 900 dolphins have died off the country's northern coast, possibly due to rising temperatures in Pacific waters.
The country's northern beaches were earlier this week declared off-limits as scientists scrambled to pin down what was causing such a massive toll, with non-government organizations blaming oil exploration work.
But Peru's deputy environment minister Gabriel Quijandria, disputed this and said warming waters, which disturbs species' food supplies, was a possible cause.

Smile :)

Dolphins join in on tail-walking fad

Scientists have known for a long time that chimps and crows teach their pals survival tricks. Dolphins do likewise, by showing other dolphins how to use sponges to protect themselves from injury. But how about tricks that don't seem to have survival value? Tricks like walking on your tail backward over the surface of the sea?

A couple of years ago, marine biologists noticed that dolphins in the wild were walking on their tails after spending some time with another dolphin, named Billie. Billie apparently learned tail-walking on her own while spending three weeks in an Australian water park called Marineland, and the scientists assumed that she showed the others how to do it.

Billie passed away last year, but her legacy continues. Last week, the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society reported that a growing number of dolphins in Port Adelaide have picked up the fad.

I'm currently re-reading The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series. I'm not surprised. :)

Beautiful and incredibly soothing

'Dolphins Play Bubbles'


(Another video YKWIA showed me tonight.)

Our girl gets into trouble for worthy causes

The cheerleader of the line from 'Heroes'--'Save the Cheerleader, Save the World'. Hayden Panettiere, was attempting to do the latter last month when she and an animal activist group paddled to a cove to try to warn off dolphins and whales before they could be massacred by Japanese fishermen. They were forced back to shore when the fishermen used their boat propellers and giant hooks to turn them away, at which point the killings continued.

So the 18-year-old now has a warrant in Japan for her arrest for 'interfering with international commerce'.

Arrest The Cheerleader?

Panettiere was quoted as being surprised by the publicity surrounding the incident. 'In this town [Hollywood], you tend to be able to get publicity when you're not wearing underwear or [you're] in rehab. I was very excited that people were interested in what we did.'

Well, her heart's in the right place, although I'm sure the fishing industry in Japan would beg to differ. All I can say is, you go girl. And yes, she said she'd probably do it again.