“On the
planet Earth, man had always assumed that he was more intelligent than dolphins
because he had achieved so much—the wheel, New York, wars and so on—while all
the dolphins had ever done was muck about in the water having a good time. But
conversely, the dolphins had always believed that they were far more
intelligent than man—for precisely the same reasons.” Douglas Adams
The authors of The Cultural Lives of Whales and Dolphins are scientists who spent
several years researching dolphins and whales. Do not expect anything mystical
or poetical about this book. It delves into the cultures of dolphins and whales
through an objective exploration of their lifestyles.
The introduction scrutinizes the meaning of
culture, illuminating the concept from a variety of accepted human perspectives.
The detailed account of what culture means to different people made me meditate
on the impact of human cultures on the planet. The first part of the book also
focuses on the significance and meaning of community and social learning. The
analysis of these topics prepares the terrain to learn about whales and
dolphins in subsequent chapters.
The facts
shared by these scientists opened my eyes to the incredible diversity of
dolphins and whales, not only in numbers of species but also in the cultural
diversity that exists within each species.
If
you have a special interest in dolphins, I highly recommend Voices in the Ocean by Susan Casey, which I reviewed nine years ago on My Writing Life
blog. Unlike Voices in the Ocean, The Cultural Lives of Whales and
Dolphins does not focus so much on anecdotes, but there are a few of them
that I enjoyed reading. As you probably know, there have been many cases of
dolphins and whales helping or rescuing humans in life-threatening situations.
The authors share a few examples.
There
is the story of a sailor who fell overboard in rough seas during a sailing race
in the Caribbean. The racing boats had to stop the race, but they were unable
to spot the sailor. A group of dolphins approached the man, providing company
and relief.
“At about the same time one of the search
boats noticed dolphins approaching and then moving off in a particular
direction. They did this several times. The sailors on the search boat wondered
whether it was some kind of signal and followed. They soon found the swimmer
and his dolphin companions.”
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Some experts may argue that the actions of
those dolphins were a result of their curiosity. However, empathy and
life-saving actions toward non-human beings have also been witnessed and
documented. “On March 12, 2008, Moko, a bottlenose dolphin, guided a
mother-calf pair of pygmy sperm whales out of an intricate set of sandbars off
the coast of New Zealand where they seemed hopelessly disoriented and
trapped—rescue workers were considering euthanasia after the pair stranded
themselves four times.” Thankfully, the bottlenose dolphin worked to rescue the
whales. It was also thrilling to learn about a seal who was saved by a humpback
whale when she was escaping from the predatory attack of a killer whale.
It is important to remember that social
learning happens not only within the communities of a specific species, but
also among different animals. The study of the behaviors and interactions
between species can also lead to a new understanding of actions consistent with
cooperation and survival in the natural world. I have explored these concepts
previously when I wrote about the book Sweet in Tooth and Claw. They are
also discussed in the book by Suzanne Simard: Finding the Mother Tree: Discovering the Wisdom of the Forest.
Researching the behaviors of different animals is also a
gateway to fathom various aspects of human nature. This is what happened to
Frans de Waal, who published a book in 1982 about the behaviors of a chimpanzee
community housed in seminatural conditions at Arnhem Zoo in the Netherlands.
“He provocatively titled the book Chimpanzee Politics because he saw
direct parallels between the power struggles and social maneuvering among the
chimpanzees in the zoo and the behavior displayed by politicians all around the
world.”
Let’s
keep learning about dolphins and whales and about other non-human beings who
share the Earth with us.
I am offering some supplementary links to
inspire you to support whales and dolphins and the people who work to protect
them:
An interview with Dr. Lori Marino:
https://savedolphins.eii.org/news/diving-deeper-into-the-whale-sanctuary-project-with-dr-lori-marino
https://savedolphins.eii.org/campaigns/sjd
https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsbl.2022.0562