A twenty-two year study suggests that dolphins may form elite societies based on a learned cultural behavior that is shared with some but not all the dolphins in the pod. They exhibited a tendency to associate with those most like themselves, which is, scientists believe, a “critical role in human (sub)cultures,” and “may be true for dolphin society as well.”
To read the full story: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/9443157/Bullingdon-Club-dolphins-form-elite-societies-and-cliques-scientists-find.html
Friday, August 3, 2012
Native Plant Walk at American Camp on Aug. 12
Join the San Juan
Islands Chapter of the Washington Native Plant Society and park staff in an
exploration of the prairie landscape at American Camp on Sunday, August
12 from 1 to 3 p.m. Meet at the American
Camp visitors’ center. Chief of
Interpretation/Historian Mike Vouri and Chief of Resource Management Jerald
Weaver will join the plant walk to discuss plans for restoring and managing the
prairies at American Camp and Young Hill. The National Park Service is
currently accepting public comments for their prairie stewardship plan. For
more information on the San Juan Islands Chapter of the WNPS, or to coordinate
carpooling, contact chapter secretary Madrona Murphy (360-468-2808, madrona.blue@gmail.com).
Are Dolphins the 2nd Smartest Animal?
Scientists doing research on dolphin brains have discovered similarities with human brains. The new study, published in the latest Proceedings of the Royal Society B,
suggests that certain genetic features have led to the convergent evolution of
large brains and complex cognition in a handful of species, including dolphins
and humans.
To read the complete article: http://news.discovery.com/animals/dolphins-human-brain-120626.html#mkcpgn=rssnws1
Visit San Juans Website
In case some of you don't know about this site, it is a great resource for you and your visitors. It now has the "Scenic Byways" map, which can be downloaded or you can order a copy.
http://www.visitsanjuans.com/
Protection of Southern Resident Orcas Challenged
The Pacific Legal Foundation has challenged the endangered listing and protection of the Southern Resident pods saying that they are not genetically any different than any of the other thousands of orcas in the oceans and therefore do not deserve protection. They believe the Southern Residents are an "unjustified subspecies" of orcas and believe that NOAA invented a subspecies for the Pacific Northwest.
Read the full story: http://blog.seattlepi.com/seattlepolitics/2012/08/02/kill-protection-of-killer-whales-lawsuit/
Death at Sea World
This article focuses on the author's view of what happened at Sea World in 2006 and 2010 when two orcas attacked their trainers killing one. There is a 15 minute video of the 2006 event. The orca had just been taken from her young calf and the calf was calling apparently greatly distressing the mother.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/13.7/2012/08/02/157714274/killer-whales-message-to-seaworld-captured-on-video
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
