Dolphins swimming directly
northward
(Miami, Florida) Marine researchers who have been observing the same pod of
dolphins off Florida's eastern coast for three years have now, for the first
time, photographed the dolphins swimming directly northward.
"These
bottlenose dolphins, possibly the smartest creatures on Earth, were observed
swimming directly northward", said Prof. Bonita Krillman. "Given the recently
observed warming of the tropical oceans, we theorize that this pod is heading
poleward in search of cooler waters".
Underwater listening devices, used
to pick up the normal playful squeals of the fun-loving dolphins, recorded
squeals with a noticably different timbre, the researchers reported. "They
sounded more terrified than playful", claimed Crystal Dearing, a graduate
student working toward a degree in Anthropogenic Environmental Disasters at
Scripps Institute of Oceanography. "They sounded distressed and fearful".
The scientists, who perform their work aboard the research ship "Gaia's
Revenge" were noticeably shaken by the observation of the dolphin pod's
behavior. "We were performing our usual tasks -- photographing and communing
with the pod -- when someone yelled, 'Oh my God! They are travelling directly
northward!'. We were stunned at the obvious implications of this unusual
behavior", related Ms. Dearing.
Dr. William Fishman, program manager at
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA's) Sustainable
Wildlife Division was also troubled by the news. Contacted by phone, Dr. Fishman
said "this is exactly what we would expect for dolphin behavior... if you had
hot water poured on you, you would flee, wouldn't you?"
The group plans
to extend their two week research cruise by another week to see how far
northward the dolphins migrate. Even though the researchers have been working in
the same region off the Florida coast for ten years, the present pod has been
studied for only three years. Tragically, another pod that had been closely
followed for seven years was decimated by a great white shark in 2003.
Postscript:
Jacques Cousteau say weekly on his show that "in 15 years, the oceans will
be too polluted to sustain life".
15 years have come and gone almost 3 times now. They keep discovering new
species of fish in the oceans.
Maybe Cousteau was thinking of another planet.
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