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Dolphins at popular spot miss tourists and keep leaving 'gifts' on shore
- kjgkjhfkjf 6y ago“In all likelihood, they probably don’t miss humans per se," [a dolphin expert] added. "They probably miss a free meal and the routine." This describes my feelings about not being able to go to work exactly.
- klyrs 6y agoWhat an annoying site. I feel like this should get tagged [popover autoplay video]. Or maybe, here's a link without that: https://digg.com/2020/dolphins-leaving-gifts https://digg.com/2020/dolphins-leaving-gifts
- nchase 6y agodigg? I haven’t heard that name in years. Also agreed, much better link.
- pwg 6y agoI've got NoScript installed and set for default deny of all javascript. I read the article, but did not have to contend with any popover autoplay videos.
- dang 6y agoOk, we've changed the URL from https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/498781-caretakers-say-dolphins-at-popular-spot-miss-tourists-and-keep https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/498781-car... to what appears to be the original source and appears not to autoplay a video.
- keenmaster 6y agoDolphins probably have a multi-tiered approach to dealing with humans. When they can get free food without trying, they don’t bother performing high cost activities. When humans stubbornly refuse to give food, they escalate “pro-social” behavior. When humans don’t show up, they resort to the highest cost way of attracting them. I don’t believe they actually miss the tourists themselves. Tourists are merely delivery vehicles for food. People are probably projecting their fantasies about animals being fundamentally better than humans.
- jonny_eh 6y ago> Tourists are merely delivery vehicles for food People say that about pets too, but those people usually don't own pets. Why can't animals have similar social instincts to humans? Maybe they just want to hang out too.
- strogonoff 6y agoThe same logic can be applied to humans. “I don’t believe parents actually love their children and vice-versa. Parents are merely delivery vehicles of food for children. Children are delivery vehicles of future care for parents. Humans are probably projecting their fantasies about themselves being fundamentally better than they are in reality.” We don’t directly perceive that dolphins project their fantasies about humans, but like with our fellow humans, it doesn’t mean they aren’t doing that.
- naringas 6y agoso... they are bringing offerings presumably hoping this will make their free meals return... so curious reminds me of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propitiation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propitiation
- neonate 6y agoReminded me of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cargo_cult https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cargo_cult.
- newman8r 6y agoI kayak in the ocean and have been seeing more whales and dolphins near shore than usual. My layman's theory is that it's due to fewer whale watching boats bothering them - I can hear those boats from miles away.
- rapnie 6y agoAlso could be that the underwater sounds we humans create, is probably way less than it used to be.
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- SeanFerree 6y agoLove dolphins!!
- idoby 6y agoServes them right, not so much "so long and thanks for all the fish" now, huh?
- kilroy123 6y agoAfter all the strict lock-downs every weekend, here in Istanbul. There are a ton of dolphins swimming in the Bosphorus straight. I've been told by locals there are normally not so many around. I sit on the balcony each weekend and see dolphins swimming about every single day. Sometimes they're very close to land. My theory is, they're around, due to drastically less boat traffic. Either way, they sure seem happy humans aren't around.
- toyg 6y agoAh man, you’ve given me nostalgia - the strait is so beautiful, and I loved the city. I will be back, sooner or later.
- dmix 6y agoThat must be a nice view. Do you see a lot of warships or other interesting stuff crossing the straight?
- kilroy123 6y agoOh yeah, I see all kinds of random industrial ships go by. I've only seen one small warship. I haven't been here long, I just sort of got stuck here in Istanbul and I'm waiting out the pandemic.
- tehlike 6y agoI am from Istanbul. My elementary school was near (but not next to) marmara sea. This was probably 24 years ago. I loved the sight of dolphins, it would make my day. Good times.
- kevinguay 6y agoSeems to be all backwards. The dolphins can't imagine what happened to us: "So long and thanks for all the gifts"
- 11235813213455 6y agoMost wild life don't miss humans presence though, vegetable and insects, birds really got back last weeks, hope it'll last. Marvellous fruit in the wild too: figs, medlars (I've fed myself almost exclusively with those last days!), thanks to insects and low air pollution
- RandyRanderson 6y ago"Sorry about the Covi and thanks for all the fish?"
- redtexture 6y agoZoos animals are vulnerable to corona virus. And their budgets require visitors. Worldwide all zoos are in a state of crisis. Now wondering about these sea mammals too. Bronx Zoo Tiger Is Sick With the Coronavirus - The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/06/nyregion/bronx-zoo-tiger-coronavirus.html https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/06/nyregion/bronx-zoo-tiger-... Zoo May Feed Animals to Animals as Funds Dry Up in Pandemic https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/15/world/europe/germany-zoo-coronavirus.html https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/15/world/europe/germany-zoo-...
- NetBeck 6y agoWhat if they are wondering where humans went and are experimenting with luring humans toward the water? Not something out of necessity, but curiosity.
- ddrt 6y agoBased on the assortment of items I’m impressed they are able to find things that are potentially useful or unique and interesting. Makes me fear for our future when they rise up and take over.
- russdill 6y agoHonestly it'd probably be an improvement.
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- arkanciscan 6y agoScare quotes belong around 'miss' not 'gifts'.
- netdur 6y agocould be this how religions started?
- chime 6y agohttps://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cargo_cult https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cargo_cult
- mrfusion 6y agoI’ve never been able to find it there’s been much research in communicating with dolphins. Especially with all of the latest machine learning and translation research. It would be so cool if they could open source a data set of dolphins recordings with context. (Maybe sound and video) Does anyone have the sea world connections to make that happen?
- zozbot234 6y agoI'm pretty sure that research to that effect is going on, even involving attempts at simple bi-directional communication with dolphins in the wild. It's just slow and hard - wild dolphins are nowhere near as easy or cheap to deal with as fancy mice in a cage.
- mrfusion 6y agoI thought that too but I can’t find anything. Maybe the two skill sets are just so different that no one ends up working on it. Marine biology and data science.
- lowdose 6y agoI saw a video on the long now channel today with dr. Laurance Doyle about dolphin communications and other species. Dolphins start at 30 minutes. He basically found that dolphins language follow the Zipf law and Shannon information theory. Baby dolphins also have a babbling periode like humans in the same timespan. It is interesting talk all the way through. Maybe you can contact him. https://youtu.be/H30NipTkA5s https://youtu.be/H30NipTkA5s https://simple.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zipf%27s_law https://simple.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zipf%27s_law
- cetalingua 6y agoIt is not easy, we have not yet cracked the code, plus will they even have the motivation or any interest to communicate with us? What we do know is that they produce a variety of signals, some very complex and their communication is super fast, which is another obstacle for possible "communication". For example, we cannot generate a burst pulse with our current technology, we can only record theirs and play it back. But many research groups are trying. We are starting Dolphin Chat citizen science project on Zooniverse in a month or so, to classify and prepare a large dataset of bottlenose dolphins' vocalizations for out deep learning model. You can check it out and even participate, it will definitely help to appreciate how complex their vocal repertoire is (and how "chatty" they are).
- andrewstuart 6y agoI went to Tin Can Bay three months ago and fed the dolphins there. There's a tiny little cafe that manages the process and hundreds of people turn up every morning. Presumably the operation makes good money.
- shitloadofbooks 6y agoI swam with the dolphins at this location 20 years ago when I was a dolphin obsessed 10 year old. There were about 12 of us there on a brisk autumn morning and there was a pod of about 6 dolphins, including a calf. The locals told us we probably wouldn't get much interaction as the dolphins were shy because of the calf. I swam out and within 10 minutes, the calf was absolutely enamoured with me. It swam up and played a form of "tag" and let me pat it, however it wouldn't go near any of the adults. Eventually the whole pod came to swim with me. It was an absolutely incredible experience and 10 year old me felt like a dolphin whisperer. Side note: My parents managed/ran the town swimming pool and so I was I very confident swimmer after spending all my spare time at the pool.
- e40 6y agoThat is so awesome they recognized you as our calf. And was completely at ease. Rightfully so.
- RichardCA 6y agoHave you seen this? https://youtu.be/Bsp_JTtE3-w https://youtu.be/Bsp_JTtE3-w
- ukoki 6y agoI can't imagine being that smart and curious and being trapped in a tiny pool my whole life
- trhway 6y agoreminds of dogs bringing the toys, balls, etc. to suggest and initiate play.
- noident 6y agoI’ve been searchin’ For the dolphins in the sea And sometimes I wonder Do you ever think of me https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8g_j5y2OK4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8g_j5y2OK4
- motohagiography 6y agoHow is it that nobody thinks they've just learned to use bait?
- h2odragon 6y agoThere's no reports of people being lured into the oceans by dolphins with sinister purposes ... which means that its not happening, or that no one is escaping to tell the tale.
- motohagiography 6y agoI can only assume you mean sinister porpoises.
- louis8799 6y agoThis is the cutest thing I have heard recently.
- smt88 6y agoA few paragraphs down: > "Barry McGovern, an expert in dolphin behaviour, said it was possible the dolphins were giving gifts because they missed humans, but unlikely."
- jlj 6y agoThere is some evidence of whales displaying gratitude and understanding of a human's intentions to help them. Very moving and interesting podcast here: https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/radiolab/episodes/91701-animal-minds https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/radiolab/episodes/91701...
- ralusek 6y agoI wonder if whatever the last item they bring before the beach opens back up is going to be strongly associated with the return of humans. "Wow, it was that boot that did it, huh?" Years later we find a crate of boots stashed away in some sea cave labelled "for when the food stops."
- dreamcompiler 6y agoSign on beach: "Guys, the stores will reopen sooner if you will just wear masks over your blowholes."