Was that a Star Trek 4 reference or just a typo?
I dunno. I’m vaguly terrified of orcas and dolphins (they’re related, I believe). They just seem entirely too smart for their own good.
I had a black molly once that jumped out of her tank. I got her back in. Suicidal fishy.
Anyway, the point I’m making is that generally there’s an observation point with tanks that keep dolphins and orcas contained, and they can tell that there’s air and ground out there, and not just more water - I’m thinking that at the very least they know they’d go squish real fast, cuz I’m pretty sure they could try to escape real fast.
Humans are some of the only beings in the animal kingdom that can consciously ignore their flight or fight syndrome, and it seems as if members of the dolphin family can as well. Then again, I think there’s significant evidence arguing against HUMANS being so smart, so maybe that’s not a good comparison.
~Tasha
It was a Star Trek IV reference, seems appropriate to the thread.
Orcas are actually classified as Dolphins rather then whales, so they are fairly closely related. The Orcas are the largest dolphins and appear to be among the smartest, though from what I read also the most dangerous. They are the only dolphins that will eat other dolphins.
Jim
I appreciate the detailed study of brain size, but the OP’s short article’s quotes about jumping barriers as an example don’t make much sense to me.
Rats and gerbils can get out of their cages and reasonably presume they can survive in the environment outside their cages. They generally don’t have any other experience of leaping into an entirely different atmosphere.
Goldfish; as said by others here, I’ve had goldfish in many different sized containers, from small tanks to outdoor ponds, and haven’t observed one jumping out willy-nilly.
Dolphins, unlike goldfish, have a well-developed sense of echolocation, so they have a good sense of the parameters of their tanks to begin with. Perhaps they can determine it’s not to their advantage to jump a barrier. If the researcher was meaning a tank barrier/open sea barrier, then that’s a good point.
Dolphins also have to go between a marine atmosphere and air to perform the necessary task of breathing, unlike rats or goldfish, so perhaps there is an awareness of the division between the two. Yet, I’ve seen wild dolphins jump up in the air and play in the area just beyond breaking waves, so they aren’t petrified of the change. I’d suspect the echolocation might be more indicative of their desire to jump barriers.
No problem if I’m wrong, not wringing my hands if dolphins are proved not to be our smoochy angels of the sea, but that barrier example doesn’t add up.
ahem
Stupid dolphin, dies trying jump the barrier between pools.
Kinda blows the whole study out of the water, doesn’t it?
Perhaps the large brain was originally developed for heat retension, but enabled an increase in intelligence.
That being said, dolphins are stupid. They still haven’t figured out that the French monarchy is long gone.
Too much of a stretch?