Clearing up any myths, fear mongering, misinformation, exaggerated claims etc. about dolphins
They are normal animals, no different than thousands of other species. They're not evil, not rapists, not perverts, not monsters, not demons etc. Just wild animals. That's all.
Many well loved animals do very similar behaviors that dolphins get blamed for, including other highly intelligent species (crows, elephants, apes). A dolphin is no more "evil" than a dog or cat.
Most negative stereotypes surrounding dolphins are rare amongst the entirety of the dolphin family, and mostly just seen within bottlenose dolphins. Generalizing all dolphin species over the (often rare or exaggerated) behaviors of just a couple species is NOT A VALID JUDGEMENT!!
Applying human morals onto nature is wrong and a deeply flawed mindset. It warps our perspective of nature and holds wildlife accountable for their actions, when they cannot and will never be able to meet our moral and ethical standards. All this mindset does is harm animals and spreads fear and hate towards important species who need our protection. Dolphins are worth infinitely more to this planet alive, than extinct.
Romanticizing wildlife is also harmful because it tends to make people upset when they realize that their "cute and cuddly" favorite animal is actually just a wild animal like any other. Manatees, capybaras, butterflies etc. they all have aggressive sides to them and gross behaviors sometimes. And that's ok!! You shouldn't hate them because of that.
There are literally no animals (besides sea sponges or coral I guess) who don't do something "unsavory" in the eyes of humanity. And that's ok!! Nature is messy, often brutal and gross, and we have to accept that and learn to appreciate it despite all that, especially in this day and age... They can't change, but we can.
Hating dolphins or any other animal over behaviors it cannot control, or because of fear mongering and myths is WRONG.
Negative public perception around wildlife hurts wildlife, and that's a fact. Look at what happened to sharks, wolves, and thylacines. We cannot afford for this to happen again.
Dolphins deserve respect, protection, appreciation and care.
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EDIT: removed the pufferfish intoxication slide since pufferfish toxin TTX is non addictive and non hallucinogenic. It cannot cause a high, the dazed behavior is due to the adolescent dolphins experiencing early stages of paralysis. Also other animals such as lemurs, wallabies, cats etc. like to get intoxicated off of toxic invertebrates, fungi or plants.
Also
"Cohesive" typo spotted in slides, "Coercive" is the correct word.
