Dolphin Intelligence

by Kenneth W. LeVasseur Cetaman@aol.com

A THIRD PHASE ALTERNATIVE TO DOLPHIN CAPTIVITY

[Continued from Part 1]

Disease Control

Special care and precautions will have to be taken to prevent the spread of disease to and from feral dolphin populations. Because of the constant reintroduction of Third Phase dolphins into close proximity with wild populations, human participants and the Third Phase dolphins will require complete medical care at all times and especially prior to ocean release. Besides urine and fecal samples, cultures will be taken from all body orifices, skin piercing injuries and each dolphin's eyes and blowhole. The dolphin's eyes and blowhole secrete a fluid that spreads out and travels down the dolphin's body under hydrodynamic pressure and helps create laminar flow as it is trapped by the tiny dermal ridges traversing around the dolphin's body. When dolphins rub against each other they mix these body fluids and will transmit an diseases that the fluid carries. Sex and the raking seen in fighting also are sources for the transmission of microbes. Upon detection, the appropriate medical regimen will be administered and the dolphin will not be ocean released or allowed to associate close enough with other dolphins to transmit the infirmity until health is restored or the infection state is passed. Human participants, working in close association with the dolphins, such as swimmers and trainers, will be required to pass regular medical checks for disease. Members of the public will be restricted from coming close enough to the dolphins to transmit disease. Members of the public that want to pass this disease barrier will have to undergo the same medical regimen as program employees, and at their own expense, unless the are part of a subsidized program.

Developing an Existing Facility

Currently, the institutions holding dolphins in captivity are virtually unanimous in saying how happy the dolphins in their programs are. Most of these dolphins are regularly transported between training areas and show or display areas, as well as stretchered for medical exams, so relocation to an open ocean area can use existing infrastructure - albeit in a much more luxurious fashion. Idyllic environs, designed by those institutions of close human / dolphin interaction that have dolphin well being as a prime concern, would be perfect for the Third Phase programs. A maximum of eight months would be available, after commitment to the Third Phase concept, for this cooperative venture to work with a facility's dolphins prior to their release in the ocean. Then, for four months, these dolphins would have the ocean available to them. This period would allow for the lead time required to purchase and build any specialize equipment needed for the open ocean period. The eight months would also be utilized to start immersing the dolphins in a human whistled language program and develop social bonds between the program's swimmers and the dolphins. Aside from the initial eight month period used during introduction of the Third Phase, the eight month / four month type of program would generally not be used except where transportation to and from the ocean is particularly arduous or where climactic conditions dictate special considerations. Under these conditions it may be better to use two six month periods between man-made enclosure and the ocean. It would then be in the best interests of all concerned to make the transportation of dolphins luxurious for the dolphins, to keep them from leaving close human / dolphin interactions to avoid transportation.

To maintain the consistency of the premises used in this approach, there can be no additional dolphins captured for Third Phase programs. The program either works by liberating existing captive dolphins and then employing them in dolphin programs or it does not. Institutions participating in this approach must commit themselves totally to this end, otherwise it will not work or stand up to scrutiny by dolphin and animal protection groups. It is possible that dolphins, who have come ashore in strandings and require medical attention, can be offered the opportunity to participate in these programs, since they are undergoing the same trauma of human handling and captivity during treatment. Also, dolphins that are born in captivity would be able to participate in the Third Phase programs and could become excellent subjects for language training in both productive and receptive competencies. The Third Phase with its stress reducing and diet correcting elements, should increase birthrates among participating dolphins. These programs would make the question of dolphins as property moot because the recapture of departed dolphin would not fit into the Third Phase concept.

Discussion

If the dolphins are not held in small, shallow tanks and enclosures or otherwise mistreated, the programs can provide plenty of incentive for the dolphins to return to tanks or pens at the end of the open ocean period. These incentives are also intriguing to humans and should increase the box office receipts of participating facilities and increase the funding of participating research institutions. Well designed programs could achieve these goals, and generate an income which maintains profitability at the same time. Dolphins socially enticed to interact with humans would not be stressfully captivated. Many species of dolphin are known to seek out human companionship, and because of this, humans have a peculiar interest in dolphins. This has formed the basis for the "draw" dolphin facilities have on the public. The Monkey Mia experience with the feral dolphins of Shark Bay, Western Australia is a unique example of how the open ocean part of the Third Phase concept might work. It should be remembered, though, that the Monkey Mia experience was initiated by the dolphins and as such is different. Unfortunately, the development that has occurred on the beach at Monkey Mia may stress the dolphins to the point that they may leave the area. Careful planning of Third Phase Facilities will be needed to revent this effect.

Conclusion

This paper has introduced a program that can address some of the most pressing environmental and animal protection concerns of recent history. The current level of development of science and technology allows the above program to succeed. There are many implementation aspects to the program that can further assure the success of such an effort but have not been included in this paper because they are of proprietary interest or would distract from the concepts introduced here. Many questions can be resolved with this approach and new areas of research rejuvenated. Among the most important pursuits is the possibility and goal of two-way communication with the mind in a non-human brain larger than the human brain. The philosophical implications of this approach will guide new approaches to how humans treat cetaceans, other animals and the environment.

Bibliography

Batteau, D. W., P. R. Markey 1967 Man/Dolphin Communication Final Report. Naval Ocean Systems Center San Diego.

Bastian, J. 1966 The transmission of arbitrary environmental information between bottlenose dolphins. In: Animal Sonar Systems - BioloSM and Bionics, Vol, II (Ed. R.-G. Busnel), Laboratoire de Physiologie Acoustique, Jony-en-Josas 78, France,

Bastian, J., C. Wall and C. L. Anderson 1968 Further investigation of the transmission of arbitrary information between bottlenose dolphins. NUWC TP 109, Naval Ocean Systems Center, San Diego.

Beer, C. G. 1986 The evolution of intelligence: costs and benefits. In: Animal Intelligence: Insights into the Animal Mind(eds. R. J. Hoage and L. Goldman), Smithsonian Press, Washington D.C.

Bekoff, M. and D. Jamieson 1990 (Eds.) Interpretation and Explanation in the Study of Animal Behavior, Vol. I & II, Westview Press Inc., Boulder, San Francisco & Oxford

Busnel,, R.-G. 1966 Information in the human whistled language and sea mammal whistling. In: Whales, Dolphins and Porpoises (Ed. K. S. Norris), University of California Press, Berkeley and Los Angeles.

Busnel, R.-G. and A. Classe 1976 Whistled Languages, Springer Verlag, Berlin, Heidelberg and New York.

Dreher, J. J. 1961 Linguistic considerations of porpoise sounds. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 33(12):1799-1800.

Dreher, J. J. 1966 Cetacean communication: small-group experiment. In: Whales, Dolphins and Porpoises (Ed. Ks S. Norris),, University of California Press, Berkeley and Los Angeles.

Duffield, D. A. and R. S. Wells 1990 Bottlenose dolphins: Comparison of census data from dolphins in captivity with a wild population. International Marine Animal Trainers Association 1990 IMATA Soundings, Spring 1991 pp. 11-15.

Evans, W. E. 1967 Vocalizations among marine mammals. In: Marine Bio-Acousticst Vol. II (Ed. W. N. Tavolga), Pergamon Press.

Evans, W. E. and J. Bastian 1969 Marine mammal communication; social and ecological factors. In: The Biology of Marine Mammals. (Ed. H. T. Anderson), Academic Press.

Evans, W. E. and J. H. Prescott 1962 observations of the sound production capabilities of the bottlenose porpoise: a study of whistles and clicks. Zoologica, 47:121-128.

Gardner, R. A. and B. T. Gardner 1969 Teaching sign language to a chimpanzee. Science, 165:644-672.

Griffin, D. R. 1976 The Question of Animal Awareness: Evolutionary Conduit of Mental Experience, The Rockefeller University Press New York.

Griffin, D. R. 1977 Anthropomorphism. BioScience 27, 445-446.

Griffin, D. R. 1979 Expanding horizons in animal communication behavior. In: How Animals Communicate (Ed. T. A. -Sebeok), Indiana University Press, Bloomington, Indiana.

Griffin, D. R. 1984 Thinking Animals, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, and London, England.

Griffin, D. R. 1985 Aminal consciousness. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews 9: 615-622

Griffin, D. R. 1991 Progress toward a cognitive etholog. In: cognitive ethology: the minds of other animals (Ed. Carolyn A. Ristau), Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Hillsdale, New Jersey; Hove and London, England.

Herman, L. M. 1980 Cognitive characteristics of dolphins. In:Cetacean Behavior: Mechanisms and Functions (Ed. L. M. Herman) Wile - Interscience New York.

Herman, L. M. 1986 Cognition and language competencies of bottlenosed dolphins. In: Dolphin Cognition and Behavior (Eds. Schusterman, R. J., J. A. Thomas and F. G. Wood), Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Inc.

Herman, L. M. 1987 Receptive competencies of language-trained animals. Advances in the Study of Behavior, Vol. 17, 1-60. AcademicPress Inc.

Herman, L. M., and P. H. Forestell 1985 Reporting presence or absence of named objects by a language-trained dolphin. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews.

Herman, L. M. and P. Morrel-Samuels 1990 Knowledge acquisition and asymetry between language comprehension and production: Dolphins and Apes as general models for animals. In: Interpretation and Explanation in the Study of Animal Behavior, Vol. I Interpretation, Intentionality and Communication (Eds. M.. Bekoff and D. Jamieson), Westview Press Inc., Boulder San Francisco & Oxford.

Herman, L. M., D. G. Richards and J. P. Woltz 1984 Comprehension of sentences by bottlenosed dolphins. Cognition (16)129-219.

Jerison, H. J. 1973 The Evolution of the Brain and Intelligence, Academic Press, New York and London.

Jerison, H. J. 1976 Paleoneurology and the evolution of mind. Scientific American 234(l):90-101.

Jerison, H. J. 1978 Brain and intelligence in whales. In: Whales and Whaling, Vol. II, Australian Government Publishin Service, Canberra.

Jerison, H. J. 1986 The perceptual worlds of dolphins. In: Dolphin Cognition and Behavior (Eds. Schusterman, R. J., J. A. Thomas and F. G. Wood), Lawrence Erlbaum Associate Inc.

Markey, P. R. 1969 Final Report, contract number N66001-69-0819 U. S. Naval Undersea Warfare Center. (so secret it is not acknowledged)

Markov, V. I. and V. M. Ostrovskaya 1990 Organization of communication system in Tursiops truncatus Montague. In: Sensory Abilities of Cetaceans, Thomas, J. and R. Kastelein eds. Plenum Press, New York.

McBride,, A. F. and D. O. Hebb 1948 Behavior of the captive bottlenose dolphin Tursiops truncatus, Journal of Comparative Psychology, 41(2):111-123*

Miles, H. L. 1983 Apes and language. In: Language in Primates (pp.43-61). (eds.) J. de Luce and H. T. Wilder, Springer-Verlag, New York.

Morgane, P. 1974 The whale brain: the anatomical basis of intelligence. In: Mind in the Waters (Ed. J. McIntyre) Charles Schribner's Sons, New York.

Morgane, P. and M. Jacobs 1972 Comparative anatomy of the cetacean nervous system. In: Functional Anatomy of Marine Mammals, Vol. I (Ed. R. J. Harrison), Academic Press, London and New York.

Morgane, P. and I. Glezer 1990 Sensory neocortex in dolphin brain. In: Sensory Abilities of Cetaceans, (Ed. J. Thomas and R. Kastelein) Plenum Press, New York.

Morgane, P., M. S. Jacobs and A. Galaburda 1986a Evolutionary morphology of the dolphin brain. In: Dolphin Cognition and Behavior (Eds. Schusterman, R. J., J. A. Thomas and F.G. Wood) Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Inc.

Morgane, P., M. S. Jacobs and A. Galaburda 1986b Evolutionary aspects of cortical organization in the dolphin brain. In: Research on Dolphins (Eds. Bryden M. M. and R. Harrison) Oxford, New York, Toronto.

Premack, Do 1971 Language in chimpanzees? Science, 172:808-822.

Premack, D. 1976 Intelligence in Ape and Man, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Inc.

Richards, D. G. 1986 Dolphin mimicry and vocal object labeling. In:Dolphin Cognition and Behavior (Eds. Schusterman, R. J., J. A. Thomas and F. G. Wood), Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Inc.

Richards, D. G., J. P. Woltz and L. M. Herman 1984 Vocal mimicry of computer-generated sounds and vocal labeling of objects by a bottlenosed dolphin (Tursiops truncates). Journal of Comparative Psychology (98)10-28.

Ridgway, S. H. 1972 Homeostasis in the aquatic environment. In: Mammals of the Sea - Biology and Medicine pp. 590-74 (ed. S. H. Ridgway) Chas. C. Thomas Publisher.

Ridgway, S. H. 1986a Physiological observations on dolphin brains. In: Dolphin Cognition and Behavior (Eds. Schusterman, R. J., J. A. Thomas and F.G. Wood), Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Inc.

Ridgway,, S. H. 1986b Dolphin brain size. In: Research on Dolphins (Eds. Bryden M. M. and R. Harrison) Oxford, New York, Toronto.

Rollin, B. E. 1990 How the animals lost their minds: animal mentation and scientific ideology. In: Interpretation and Explanation in the Study of Animal Behavior, Vol. I Interpretation, Intentionality and Communication (Eds. M.Bekoff and D. Jamieson), Westview Press Inc., Boulder, San Francisco & Oxford.

Savage-Rumbaugh, S. and K. E. Brakke 1990 Animal language: Methodological and interpretive issues. In: Interpretation and Explanation in the Study of Animal Behavior, Vol. I Interpretation, Intentionality and Communication (Eds. M.Bekoff and D. Jamieson), Westview Press Inc., Boulder, San Francisco & Oxford.

Tomlin, A. G. 1968 Factors promoting powerful development of the brain in odontoceti. Trudy Vsesoyuznogo Sel'skokhozyaystuennogo, Instituta Zaochnogo Obrazovaniya, No. 31, Joint Publications Research Service 49777, 9 February 1970.

Wood, F. G. 1973 Marine Mammals and Man: The Navy's Porpoises and Sea Lions, R. B. Luce, Washington, D. Co.

Zanin, A. V., V. I. Markov and I. E. Sidorova 1990 The ability of bottlenose dolphins, Tursiops truncatus, to report arbitrary information. In Sensory Abilities of Cetaceans, Thomas, J. and R. Kastelein eds., Plenum Press, New York,