Dolphins cove 🐬

Loki/Kiska // Adult // He/it Cetacean side blog Trans species // Physical therian clado flux selective cap 🐋

[dolphins-cove]

Hi! This is my Cetacean side blog 🐬

I am a Cetacean clado flux (physical) Therian, i mainly fluctuate between a Striped dolphin, bottlenose dolphin, chinese white dolphin, Orca, aswell as a humpback whale.

I call myself a Transspecies dolphin.

I am selective cap/pro animal welfare

[thelovelyseas]

dancing in the light by BarryFackler

[noahnomore]

[ihaveapproximately4bones]

THIS POST IS SO WRONG

this is what you dolphin haters sound like:

ALSO

SHARKS MATE MORE AGGRESSIVELY THAN DOLPHINS DO!!!

Most shark mating is aggressive and leaves deep scars in the female and she can die from this sometimes. EVEN IN FILTER FEEDERS LIKE WHALE SHARKS.

Meanwhile in dolphins this is the typical mating behavior seen. It's non-aggressive.

The aggressive social mobbing y'all are imagining is RARE only in TWO POPULATIONS OF ONE SPECIES OF DOLPHIN ONLY.

Dolphin mating is typically GENTLE.

Dolphins do not deserve hate for being a normal wild animal. And not all dolphins behave like bottlenose dolphins do. Also multiple experts on dolphin behaviors said raping people is a myth btw.

Plus sharks do the same thing dolphins get hated for most more often!!!

It's hypocritical to be a shark fan then hate dolphins for this, and y'all should have learned from Jaws how harmful negative public perception and demonizing wildlife is!!!!

🐬🤝🦈

Love and respect both.

[inatungulates]

Beluga Delphinapterus leucas

Observed by azure27014, CC BY-NC

[dolphins-cove]

Its so funny that people in my comments tell me they wish for me to be a dolphin in captivity in my next life, framing it as something bad, but thats like, my biggest wish, to be a theriform dolphin, under human care cause i never learned how to hunt and care for myself. No responsibilities, no fear of being unable to survive on my own, just swimming, jumping, no more worries.

[ihaveapproximately4bones]

Debunking dolphin hate master-post.

There are currently 38 "true" dolphin species (Family Delphinidae), and 4 river dolphin species (Families Platanistidae and Inioidea) known today.

Orcas have multiple ecotypes (10+) each with unique behaviors, diets, cultures and dialects. Even their anatomy differs by ecotype. No orca population is exactly alike. These may likely be subspecies or separate species, taxonomists are unsure as of yet.

Behaviors people hate these animals for include:

Infanticide

Self intoxication

Reproductive aggression

Interspecies mating attempts

Killing without consuming

Such behaviors are common in multiple animal clades and are relatively rare in Delphinids and other Cetaceans by comparison.

Infanticide:

Infanticide is the act of a (typically) male animal killing the offspring of a rival male inorder to get mating rights with the female. This behavior is seen in insects, fish, amphibians, birds and mammals, however in this post I will focus on mammals.

Over 1500+ mammal species have been documented displaying infanticidal behaviors, most commonly in primates. Rodents, elephants, ungulates and carnivorans also do this behavior, most much more regularly than any dolphin species.

Only 6 Cetacean genera have ever been documented doing this behavior.

Common bottlenose dolphin: The most common dolphin species to show infanticidal behaviors, however only 1 successful attempt was ever documented.

Amazon river dolphin: The 2nd most common Cetacean species to show infanticidal behaviors.

Indo-Pacific humpbacked dolphin: 3 infanticidal attempts have been documented, 2 resulting in death of the infant.

Guiana dolphin: Only 1 documented case of infanticide exists.

Pacific white-sided dolphin: Only 1 attempt has ever been documented, this was unheard of in this species and is considered extremely rare and abnormal.

Orca: Only 1 case has been documented, this is also a relatively well studied population of orcas which has been researched for decades in the Pacific Northwest. This behavior is extremely rare and unheard of in any other orca ecotype, it was deemed abnormal. The infanticidal male was attacked by the mother and his attempt was in vain, he wasn't able to mate with her.

This behavior is extremely rare in dolphins and related Cetaceans. Other mammals such as monkeys, apes, mice, gerbils, big cats, bears, meerkats, hippos, zebra and horses all display this behavior much more regularly.

Intoxication:

Self intoxication is common in many animals, simply for recreation.

Wallabies consume opium from poppy plants, horses consume locoweed, bighorn sheep consume toxic lichen, jaguar consume yage vines, and various primates consume millipedes all in order to get high. Bats, parrots, primates and elephants all consume fermented fruit in order to get tipsy/drunk as well.

Only 3 dolphin species; the bottlenose, rough-toothed, and spinner dolphins have been documented using pufferfish toxin in order to get high. However this is typically only seen in adolescents and the fish is usually unharmed afterwards. This is most common in bottlenose dolphins.

Sealions also use pufferfish to get high off the toxins, however they are far more aggressive towards the fish than dolphins are.

Reproductive aggression:

Sexual aggression is the most common claim used to vilify dolphins, however the degree of such aggression is wildly exaggerated and this behavior is only documented in 1 out of 38 dolphin species. Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins (Shark Bay Australia) are the only species of dolphin documented to show aggressive mating tactics, other populations of bottlenose dolphins this behavior is rare or unheard-of, and it is not documented in any other Delphinid.

Other marine animals show similar aggressive, social mating behavior:

Manatee mating herds can be quite aggressive, with males chasing and shoving females to persuade her to mate. This aggression can occasionally lead to death. Sexually frustrated manatee males will also on occasion attempt to mate with calves.

Beluga whale mating behavior is very similar to that of Indo-Pacfic bottlenose dolphins. Multiple beluga males may chase and bite at a single female to get her to mate with them.

Out of over 500+ species of shark, nearly all of them exhibit aggressive mating behaviors. In some species such as white-tip reef sharks, multiple males will attempt to mate with the female at once and occasionally this aggression can result in the death of the female. "Typically, the male shark harasses the female until she submits to mating, and in the process, she is covered with bites, called mating wounds." -Dr. Gruber

Interspecies mating attempts:

A common urban legend used to vilify dolphins is "dolphins will forcibly mate with anything". This claim is simply false. Dolphin researchers Dr. Maddalena Bearzi, Dr. Diana Reiss, Dr. Justin Gregg and Dr. Janet Mann have acknowledged this myth and debunked it. Dolphins do not mate with humans or other animals, wild dolphins have never been observed attempting to reproduce with anything besides another member of Delphinidae.

Sexual frustration towards humans has been documented in many animals; dogs, kangaroos, apes, monkeys, waterfowl, chickens, parrots, cranes, falcons, owls, emus, ostriches, pigeons etc. Such behaviors have only been documented in 1 species of dolphin, the bottlenose. Such behavior has only been documented in a select few individual bottlenose males, and these males were loners with no pod and had human contact as their only form socialization. No intercourse has occurred by these dolphins.

Sexual frustration towards humans is almost always the human's fault and occurs when an animal isn't socialized properly with its own kind, which makes them view humans as a potential mate. These animals typically receive a lot of human interaction which emboldens them to attempt to mate with them.

There are cases of humans taking advantage of animals, including dolphins and sexually abusing them. The animal is the victim and is not to blame, especially when the human was a willing participant. It is zoophilia and animal abuse.

There is a viral video of an Amazon river dolphin using a fish corpse as a way to pleasure itself. This video is misleading. Amazon river dolphins do not do well in captivity and commonly exhibit unnatural behaviors. This behavior has only been documented once and is likely due to zoochosis. A one off case such as this is hardly a valid judgement of this species' behavior and on dolphins as a whole.

Another viral video used to vilify dolphins is of a bottlenose mounting and thrusting into a woman sitting on a dock. This video has many flaws when one digs deeper into it. First off dolphins do not mate like the video shows, they do not mount and thrust, secondly the dolphin in the video is not aroused. This video takes place in a marine park in Cuba, these animals are trained to do this behavior. The dolphin is rewarded with fish for completing the behavior and the guests and trainer are laughing during it. This is sexual exploitation of an animal, it is abusive and it is played off as a "funny" trick to amuse guests.

Also claims of blowhole intercourse in Amazon river dolphins, and bottlenose dolphins using eels to pleasure themselves have no scientific evidence supporting them.

Killing without consuming:

The claim dolphins kill for sport is unscientific and too anthropomorphic for most researchers to take seriously. This claim comes from the general public who are typically not adequately educated on animal behaviors.

Surplus killing is a common behavior exhibited by predators, in which they kill more prey than they can immediately eat and then they either cache or abandon the remainder. This behavior is suspected in a few Delphinid species and has nothing to do with being malicious or killing for sport. Besides possible surplus killing, dolphins kill for food, removal of competition, defense of themselves or others, and for teaching their young how to hunt.

Orcas often ram/bludgeon their prey when hunting, this behavior has caused many people to label them as "bullies" due to misunderstanding what this behavior is. Orca teeth are not serrated like a shark's so they can't cause heavy blood loss when biting, orca teeth are built to grip onto prey, not to cut. Orca ram or hit their prey using their rostrum (snout) and flukes (tail) to cause death by blunt force trauma, this how they evolved to dispatch their prey, it's simply more effective with their anatomy to do so.

Porpicide is the behavior seen in bottlenose dolphins and Southern Resident orcas. The explanation of this behavior isn't completely known. Theories include removal of competition or misdirected infanticide by bottlenose dolphins. And for orcas this behavior is more rare, only documented 78 times over multiple decades. The leading theory for why orcas do this is to allow their young to practice their hunting skills on an animal similar in size to their preferred prey, chinook salmon.

Dolphins, particularly bottlenose dolphins, have been observed killing shark pups and tossing them around. This behavior serves multiple purposes. Sharks are predators of dolphins, especially of calves, and sharks also are ecological rivals who compete for similar resources. So removing their predators/competitors as infants gives them greater success for survival. And tossing them around is a way they practice and improve their hunting skills.

Surplus killing, killing the offspring of rivals or predators, and practicing hunting on a living animal are common behaviors in many species, especially in mammalian carnivores. Any "play-like" behaviors seen in predators is very important, it strengthens social bonds and improves hunting success. These behaviors are not malicious in any way, they are necessary for survival and evolved for a reason.

Also no predator kills its prey humanely, they are physically unable to.

Fear mongering:

Fear mongering, especially by the spread of misinformation is incredibly harmful, especially when applied to wildlife. The Jaws phenomenon is a perfect example of this, where multiple shark species were driven close to extinction due to humans killing them out of fear. A similar phenomenon is currently occurring towards dolphins, even to the point some people are wishing for harm or extinction to these animals. This is incredibly concerning and inappropriate behavior.

There are claims that "dolphins are more dangerous than sharks" which simply is not true, the statistics don't lie. Sharks attack roughly 60+ people per year and kill 5-12 per year on average, many attacks are unprovoked. Dolphin attacks are extremely rare and almost always provoked incidents, injuries are typically minimal, very few (usually less than 12) incidents are recorded annually. Only 1 fatality was ever documented by a wild dolphin. In December 1994 two male swimmers, Wilson Reis Pedroso and João Paulo Moreira, were harassing Tião the bottlenose dolphin, at a beach of Caraguatatuba, Brazil. Tião broke the ribs of Pedroso and killed Moreira, who was later found to be drunk.

There's also claims that "dolphins rape 12 people a year". This statistic isn't true at all and there are no historical records of such events occurring. Also as stated in the section on 'Interspecies mating attempts', multiple experts (Doctors Gregg, Bearzi, Reiss and Mann) have debunked the dolphin raping humans myth.

Conclusion:

Dolphins and their kin are normal animals who do behaviors seen in countless other species, and only a small handful of dolphin species even somewhat resemble the highly exaggerated negative stereotypes surrounding them. Even with their intelligence they don't have a concept of what we as humans view as right and wrong. It is not our place to judge wildlife based on our human moral standards due to the fact that non-human animals will never be capable of living up to our expectations. And it is incredibly irresponsible and selfish to wish for the extinction of an entire species because it behaves in a way we as humans would find distasteful, especially on keystone species like dolphins. 

[dolphins-cove]

Swim free, swim forever. Queen Katina. 🕊

You were so so loved.

[autisticfoxstudios]

Hot take but I think that orcas are a perfect example of cute & badass

[dolphins-cove]

Tw: animal death, Kshamenk

Kshamenk, Argentinas last surviving captive Orca died earlier today. The news just hit me.

Fuck this shit. We failed him.

We failed another one.

Its a miracle that he even survived that long in this terrible disgusting facility. Rest in peace, little boy, may you swim free and forever.

You poor soul never deserved any of this. If only those fuckass activists would have laid the focus on you, maybe you could have been saved. Instead you were forgotten, ignored and neglected by everyone. Im so angry. First Kiska, then Lolita and now Kshamenk. History repeats itself over and over again, while activists still focus on seaworld instead of the individuals who actually need savings. The individuals kept isolated and whose wellbeing was neglected for decades. I am mad. He didnt just die, he was murdered.

[calsfinalproject]

throwing this here bc i can idk

[dolphins-cove]

Visiting Loro parque the next 2 days, i cant wait to meet orcas for the first time, especially little teno and his mother morgan🥺

[orcinusmeridionalis]

Dear Earth...

I can't believe that you are gone. Taken too early, too soon..

Loved by so many. You will be remembered.

Rest in peace, you precious boy. You will be so tremendously missed.

[dolphins-cove]

My favorite boy, my comfort orca, i cant believe hes gone.. Rest in peace.

[orcinusmeridionalis]

A not-so-friendly reminder to stop applying human concepts and morals to animals.

They have no concept of the human idea of "freedom" no matter how much you keep saying it. No concept of laws or right and wrong. No, that animal isn't "evil" you're just ascribing morals to a creature that has no idea what evil even is.

Projecting any of this onto an animal is just anthropomorphism, which is dangerous in so many ways.

And don't get me started on so called "animal rights activists", projecting their own wants onto the animals, deciding they know what they need. Because of course they do. "If I want it it's something this animal wants as well." Can you not hear yourself? God just stop.

Animals are sentient and intelligent creatures. Clever in ways humans cannot understand. Just as they cannot understand human concepts.

[ihaveapproximately4bones]

[dolphins-cove]

My stance on cetacean captivity has changed a bit. I wanted to post abt it so people can unfollow me if theyre uncomfortable with it.

I still disagree with the concept of cetaceans being in captivity in the first place. What has changed is my view on how to handle those already living in captivity. Well partially. The only place with captive cetaceans i support and accept are the four seaworld parks and CMA. Every other facility is still a big no go and i hate those alot.

What changed my view is that i think black and white thinking wont take us very far and wont help the individual animals who all have individual needs. Seaworld is the worlds leader in cetacean care and also fades out orca captivity wich means those orcas currently at seaworld are the last generation. I believe them staying there is the best option for them since sanctuaries dont exist and would be dangerous. If you have specific questions aby my stance feel free to ask me. I might be able to explain my stance better when answering specific questions.

Basically what i was trying to say is, i dont follow the "empty the tanks" movement anymore since its too radical for me. Id still consider myself mainly somewhat anti cap but less radical than before.

One more thing id like to mention is, dear activists, please focus on facilities that keep their animals in bad conditions, seaworld isnt ideal but currently the best for captive orcas to live at. Please focus on facilities like Moskvarium, mundo marino, chimelong spaceship, shanghai haichang ocean park, loro parque.. and so on. Their animals actually need savings.

[marine-gifs]

A bottlenose dolphin mother and calf. From Ocean Souls (2020).

[marine-gifs]

Bottlenose dolphins socialising. From Ocean Souls (2020).