Dolphin Assisted Fishing

[Seedersandleechers]

Laguna is a Brazilian city located in the southern state of Santa Catarina.

An interesting collaboration has developed in Laguna: a pod of bottlenose dolphins drive fish towards fishermen who stand at the beach in shallow waters. Then one dolphin rolls over, which the fishermen take as sign to throw out their nets. The dolphins feed on the escaping fish. They were not trained for this behavior; the collaboration has been going on at least since 1847. The phenomenon – which also occurs in parts of West Africa but nowhere else in the world – has for years attracted marine biologists and natural historians to Laguna to study the bizarre, communal relationship.

[RC]

1. The dolphins have the humans well trained.

[Seedersandleechers]

2. Kind of like cats

[rzemanfl]

3. The ones here want me to catch the fish and then feed them.

Not supposed to do it, but I am not about to argue with a big marine mammal that is swimming where I am wading.

[scrubthedata]

4. Okay, that's really ... odd. nt

[1monster]

6. Not really. Dolphins cooperate with each other to catch their fish. This probably started when

a dolphin or two noticed fishermen casting their nets and found that the mullet paniced and broke formation and madet them easier to catch.

Dolphins are social creatures and would have shared their knowledge with the other members of their pods. Thus, a tradition was born. Fishermen, maybe more slowly than the dolphins, caught on to the advantages of collaboration and both groups passed what became a tradition down from generation to generation...

It's a Win/Win for everyone.... but the mullet.

[bitchkitty]

5. Pretty cool! n/t

[Bucky]

7. Notice how they keep luring the humans deeper out? This is obviously a trap.

Don't fuck with dolphins after they've acquired a taste for human flesh. I can't believe these shmucks are falling for this set up. All that chattering probably is dolphinspeak for "So long and thanks for all the Brazilians."

Somewhere tonight, George Bush is crying.