Beautiful Minds - The Parallel Lives of Great Apes and Dolphins

How can I forget the heartbreaking expression of Mara, enslaved in those four walls of the tank? Was it just my vivid imagination that her lethargic behavior and her soulful expression reflected her memory of life in the open ocean, a life without barriers and limits? Was she choking on the stale and confined waters of her tank? Did she miss her companions? Or was I just trying to humanize that dolphin and her feelings? What about Filippo and his strong and sometimes too passionate feelings toward our species? Also the fruit of a scientist's imagination? Or is his behavior an attempt to shift his emotions from his missing companions toward these terrestrial, biped friends? Communication may constitute yet another important facet of our fascination with dolphins. I can't count the number of times people have asked me, "Can we talk to them?" The origins of this mindset probably came from an extravagant scien- cist named John Lilly and the work he did with dolphins in captivity. Lilly believed that dolphins possess a highly developed brain and sophisticated linguistic abilities. His work captivated the public interest in the 1960s and his books became best sellers. He believed that humans and dolphins could communicate with each other, and his work was focused on breaking through an interspecies language barrier. Whether Lilly's work was convincing or whether it was our human desire to believe him, the idea that dolphins were intelligent mammals capable of communication became widely known. Whatever Lilly or we actually believe about human and dolphin communication, it remains that the story of the talking dolphin, especially for young children, today represents one of the most wonderful tales on Earth. Next to communication, our fascination with dolphins may begin with our childlike attraction to their playfulness. They seem to experience great joy in playing with their companions or with animate or inanimate objects that they come across. They are often observed amusing themselves with balls in captivity as well as with plastic bags or strings of kelp in the open sea. They may toss a fish in the air with their beak and then grab it again and again as if in a silly mood, or engage in spectacular acrobatic jumps, lateral breaches, synchronous bows, and outrageous leaps. They may tease a sea turtle by pulling on its tail or imitate the movement of a small shark by swimming in a side-toside motion. Joy seems to be contagious among dolphins.

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hrmitcrb (2011-08-18)

Looks like an excellent book. Thank you very much!