If you feed them...

When a human feeds a bear it can be an extremely hazardous act for both man and beast. Unfortunately, a similar situation exists with my fellow dolphins in the coastal waters of America. However, in this case, we are the only ones who die, never the human, and that makes all the difference. Whenever you throw back fish in the presence of dolphins, you are teaching them that fishing boats are floating Smorgasbords. Is it any wonder then that they have learned to help themselves to the fish even before it is reeled in? Sadly, this has led to fishermen shooting many of my kind, as has occurred recently in Florida and California. Such acts of cruelty are illegal under your Federal Marine Mammal Protection Act, and it is encouraging to note that your law enforcement bodies prosecute these murderers to the full extent of the law. However, if feeding us dolphins occasionally led to you humans becoming the meal, as is the case with bears, then you might be more circumspect with regard to dumping fish in our presence. But we don’t eat people (despite the Japanese people who eat us), and so this sad saga will likely continue, as long as fishermen in coastal nations such as the United States, Australia and Brazil to name a few, continue their acts of carelessness, and worse, murder.