Scientists: Dolphins Killing Porpoises on CA Coast

[The Straight Story]

Scientists: Dolphins Killing Porpoises on CA Coast


MOSS LANDING, Calif. (AP) -- Marine biologists believe they have found the culprit in attacks on porpoises off the California coast: dolphins.

Scientists with the nonprofit conservation group Okeanis said they captured video of a group of bottlenose dolphins attacking and killing a porpoise.

For the past five years, there have been a growing number of dead harbor porpoises washing up on California shores. The scientists had suspected dolphins were to blame because of the type of injuries the porpoises sustained, but now the video supports the theory.

Okeanis is collaborating with the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, the Marine Mammal Center, Long Marine Lab and the Moss Landing Marine Mammal Center to find out why the relatively docile dolphins are attacking.

http://www.news10.net/news/story.aspx?storyid=70052&catid=2

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

1. Send in the Japanese to clean up those shenanigans.

[Blue-Jay]

12. .

[FarCenter]

17. Oh, no, it's the Japanese!

http://www.southparkstudios.com/clips/254165

[UndertheOcean]

2. oh no , not cute cuddly dolphins !

[Silent3]

3. It must be because of humans!

Because we know only humans do bad things and animals are smart and kind and wise and magically attuned to the environment and full of Ancient Wisdom that evil humans ignore. :eyes:

[DainBramaged]

5. I watched a show on NatGeo this morning EXACTLY about this

OMG they are JUST like humans..........


http://www.nationalgeographic.com/tv/press/990202.html

[TheDebbieDee]

8. They're sex addicts, too!

Dolphins are smart, horny little buggers!

[TheDebbieDee]

9. They're sex addicts, too!

Dolphins are smart, horny little buggers!

[DainBramaged]

10. They brought that up too, no worse than we are.........

except I think they cal it 'splashing' in dolphin not humping.........

[DaveinJapan]

4. Fuck You, Polpoise!

:evilgrin:

[Shell Beau]

6. This doesn't surprise me. I still love dolphins.

They are so intelligent.

[Bonobo]

7. Dolphins are serial rapists too. nt

[htuttle]

11. Got a feeling that humans did the same thing to Neanderthals long ago

Probably due to loss of food supplies in both cases.

[blogslut]

13. Sounds about right

Can't say for sure but I imagine it's a territorial/resource thing. Survival is survival.

[Odin2005]

14. Nature isn't kind.

[Subdivisions]

15. Competition for what's left of the food chain. Shame. n/t

[Solly Mack]

16. I'm sure they feel real bad about it

:D

[bertman]

18. Does anyone know if they did it on porpoise or was it accidental??

But seriously, I thought dolphin mammals and porpoises were the same critters. I know there are dolphin fish--mahi mahi, dorado--but this seems to imply that dolphins and porpoises are different.

On another note, I'm pretty sure that dolphins/porpoises didn't start this macho, humanlike behavior until they named that Miami football team after them. That's when they started kidnapping and raping the smaller female dolphin/porpoises and beating up on their fellow watery mammalians. Anybody who ever watched "Flipper" would know that dolphins would never do anything bad.

[AlienGirl]

19. Dolphins and porpoises are both mammals, but are different species

The dolphins seem to key in on size difference as the important factor, and sometimes mistakenly target young, small dolphins along with the porpoises.

It's an ongoing cetacean genocide.

Tucker

[bertman]

21. So mostly it's on porpoise, but sometimes it's accidental. Thank you for the info, Tucker.

[XemaSab]

20. Interesting that the SB museum is part of the research team

Last time I went in there they were doing a necropsy on a porpoise. :shrug: