Dolphins represent many animals that instinctively convey their profound
capacity for caregiving by supporting
other distressed, injured, or dying animals. This research on caregiving dolphins and distress calls includes the first documented underwater account of multiple wild bottlenose dolphins caregiving a distressed dolphin. The suffering animal appeared to elicit help through calls of anguish to other members of a group of Atlantic dolphins.
When this
incident was recorded in underwater video and acoustic recordings later analyzed,
it was revealed that a distressed dolphin frequently produced what are most
likely distress calls often paired with the emission of long bubble streams. The
frequency of her whistle production was positively correlated with the
frequency of the supporting behaviors received from other dolphins.
What did
supportive dolphins do? Caregiving behaviors of the other dolphins included
raft formations, lifts, and stimulating pushes that were predominantly directed
toward the upper third of the distressed dolphin’s body. These activities appeared
to be directed towards bringing the distressed dolphin toward the surface so
that she could breathe. This account highlights the possible role of distress calls in such scenarios.
Dolphins are well known for
displaying empathy and emergency assistance for other species in need. In this
video, two incidents are featured in which dolphins come to the aid of a dog
and a human in danger of death.
Frances Shani Parker, Author
Becoming Dead Right: A
Hospice Volunteer in Urban Nursing Homes is available
in paperback and e-book editions in America and other countries at online and
offline booksellers.
Hospice and Nursing Homes Blog
Hospice and Nursing Homes Blog
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