-
"Gift giving" by wild bottle-nose dolphins (Tursiops sp.) to humans at a wild dolphin provisioning program, Tangalooma, Australia
| Contributor(s):: Holmes, B. J., Neil, D. T.
Since 1992, wild dolphin provisioning has occurred on a nightly basis at Tangalooma, a resort located on Moreton Island, Australia. Each evening at dusk up to 12 bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops sp.) are provided with fish in a regulated provisioning program. Since July 1998, biologists managing...
-
All is Whale That Ends Whale? The Deficiencies in National Protection for Orca Whales in Captivity
| Contributor(s):: Hillary T. Wise
With the severity of our Earth’s climate change crisis, this article endeavors to underline the critical need for environmental reformation. It is no secret that orca whales epitomize miraculous intelligence, gentility, and strength. As overwhelming as this crisis might be, there are very...
-
Are animals capable of deception or empathy? Implications for animal consciousness and animal welfare
| Contributor(s):: Kuczaj, S., Tranel, K., Trone, M., Hill, H.
-
Awareness of whale conservation status and whaling policy in the US - a preliminary study on American youth
| Contributor(s):: Parsons, E. C. M., Rice, J. P., Sadeghi, L.
In 2008, a preliminary study was conducted to provide information on awareness of cetacean (whale, dolphin and porpoise) conservation issues and the US government's policy on whaling, in a test group of US university students (n=230). When given a list of whale species, 39% of the participants...
-
Behavior of a solitary sociable female bottlenose dolphin ( Tursiops truncatus ) off the coast of Kent, southeast England
| Contributor(s):: Eisfeld, S. M., Simmonds, M. P., Stansfield, L. R.
This article provides a report of the behavior of a solitary sociable dolphin studied on the southeast coast of England in 2007. This is the first study of its kind in which behavior of such a nonhuman animal was systematically studied. By the time of this study, this young female was highly...
-
Behavior of dolphins towards adults and children during swim-with-dolphin programs and towards children with disabilities during therapy sessions
| Contributor(s):: Brensing, K., Linke, K.
In recent years, dolphin-assisted therapy has become very popular and an increasing number of facilities worldwide offer therapy programs with dolphins. In contrast to other animal-assisted therapy programs, dolphins are not domestic animals; they are mostly caught in the wild and there are still...
-
Behavioural responses of Argentine coastal dusky dolphins Lagenorhynchus obscurus to a biopsy pole system
| Contributor(s):: Loizaga de Castro, R., Hoelzel, A. R., Crespo, E. A.
-
Behavioural responses of captive common dolphins Delphinus delphis to a 'Swim-with-Dolphin' programme
| Contributor(s):: Kyngdon, D. J., Minot, E. O., Stafford, K. J.
We monitored the effects of a `Swim-with-Dolphin' (SWD) programme on the behaviour of three female common dolphins. They were studied from January 1999 to July 1999 at Marineland, Napier, New Zealand. Before, during and after SWD sessions we recorded: (1) the use of a refuge area, (2) the...
-
Concluding studies on the failures of electrical lancing of whales
| Contributor(s):: Barnes, G. R. G., Madie, P.
-
Conflict and reconciliation behavior trends of the bottlenose dolphin ( Tursiops truncatus )
| Contributor(s):: Holobinko, A., Waring, G. H.
Wild bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) populations display societal structures characterized by numerous and frequent changes in group composition, complex social relationships, and high levels of cooperation, attributes also observed in human and nonhuman primate cultures. Maintaining...
-
Conservation, Captivity, and Whaling: A Survey of Belize Whalewatching Tourists' Attitudes to Cetacean Conservation Issues
| Contributor(s):: Katheryn W. Patterson
With whalewatching activities and associated expenditures increasing annually, governments in coastal countries possess a large vested interest in the continued growth and protection of whale populations and the associated tourism. In 2007 and 2008, a survey investigating...
-
Cortisol levels in dolphin Tursiops truncatus interactive programs linked to humanNiveles de cortisol en delfines Tursiops truncatus vinculados a programas interactivos con humanos
| Contributor(s):: Sanchez Okrucky, R., Morales Vela, B.
Understanding the physiological changes in animals during physical activity to improve animal welfare has become increasingly important in animal collections that remain under human care. To date, the effect of interactive programs on dolphins under human care has not been evaluated, for that...
-
Developing a Catalog of Socio-Sexual Behaviors of Beluga Whales ( Delphinapterus leucas ) in the Care of Humans
| Contributor(s):: Heather M Hill, Sarah Dietrich, Deirdre Yeater, Mariyah McKinnon, Malin Miller, Steve Aibel, Al Dove
The repertoire of socio-sexual and sexual behaviors of cetaceans is relatively unknown. The purpose of the current study was to advance the existing knowledge of socio-sexual behavior of beluga whales through the development of a behavioral catalog that lists the full repertoire of sexual and...
-
Do bottlenose dolphins display behavioural response to fish taste?
| Contributor(s):: Bouchard, Bertrand, Lisney, Thomas J., Campagna, Sylvie, Célérier, Aurélie
The chemosensory abilities (i.e. taste, smell and trigeminal perception) of odontocete cetaceans are still widely unknown. However, a better understanding of their potential use of these senses would not only improve our knowledge of their behavioural ecology, but also allow us to develop...
-
Does participation in Dolphin-Human Interaction Programs affect bottlenose dolphin behaviour?
| Contributor(s):: Trone, M., Kuczaj, S., Solangi, M.
The present study quantified the daily (short-term) and monthly (long-term) behavioural repertoires of three dolphins that participated in Dolphin Interaction Programs with paying guests. Behavioural data were collected over a 6-month period, with Dolphin Interaction Programs occurring daily...
-
Effects of pool size on free-choice selections by Atlantic bottlenosed dolphins at one zoo facility
| Contributor(s):: Shyan, M. R., Merritt, D., Kohlmeier, N. M., Barton, K., Tenge, J.
Dolphin pool design often derives from the concept that cetaceans are ocean based and ipso facto should live in open, deep, watery spaces. This emotionally appealing rationale is not data driven. Researchers report that in the wild, some populations of Atlantic bottlenosed dolphins Tursiops...
-
Effects of the interaction with dolphins on physical and mental conditions of the elderly
| Contributor(s):: Akiyama, J., Sugimoto, K., Ohta, M.
The effects of animal-assisted therapy (AAT) on the physical and physiological health of old people have been well known. In general, dogs, cats and small animals have been used at the AAT for seniors. In this study we tried to clarify physical and mental effects of the interactions of old people...
-
Encounters with whales '93 : a conference to further explore the management isues relating to human/whale interactions
| Contributor(s):: Deb Postle, Mark Simmons
Within the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park there has also been an increase over the past few years in the number of tourist operators applying for permits to run commercial whale watching activities. In the Whitsunday Islands region, which is already a heavily used recreational and commercial...
-
Ethogram of selected behaviors initiated by free-ranging short-finned pilot whales ( Globicephala macrorhynchus ) and directed to human swimmers during open water encounters
| Contributor(s):: Scheer, M., Hofmann, B., Behr, I. P.
In order to establish an ethogram of interactive behaviors initiated by free-ranging short-finned pilot whales (Globicephala macrorhynchus) and directed to human swimmers, we initiated encounters with non-habituated pilot whale groups during open water encounters southwest of Tenerife, Canary...
-
Evaluating possible indicators of insensibility and death in cetacea
| Contributor(s):: Butterworth, A., Sadler, L., Knowles, T. G., Kestin, S. C.
The International Whaling Commission (IWC) currently uses imprecise indicators of death to evaluate the welfare consequences of whaling. A recent independent meeting of animal welfare scientists proposed a series of tests to determine the states of sensibility/insensibility/death of whales. As a...
