Dolphin, Heal Thyself.

"Physician, heal thyself:" Many of you (well, perhaps some of you) are familiar with this proverb spoken by Jesus (Luke 4:23, King James Bible). One interpretation of the full quote in which these words appear is that we should attend to our own failings before criticizing others. (Sadly, this is something that the President and the Congress currently seem oblivious to.) Yet another more literal interpretation is simply that human physicians, while helping others, are often unable to help themselves.

In stark contrast to our own failings as a species, both behavioral and physiological, it appears that dolphins are capable of doing just that. A recent study by a scientist at the Georgetown University Medical Center, as reported by Science Daily (reference below), has indicated that dolphins possess a remarkable ability to quickly heal from serious injuries such as shark bites without suffering infection or significant bleeding, and with apparent indifference to pain. Moreover, as these injuries heal, there is almost complete restoration of their normal body contour.

This is yet another indication of the magic and majesty of dolphins; but even as I say this, the people of Taiji, Japan, are preparing for their annual harvest of dolphins in which they will brutally slaughter 2,000 of these innocent beings. Need I say more about the contrast between our two species?


Reference: Georgetown University Medical Center (2011, July 25). Dolphins' 'remarkable' recovery from injury offers important insights for human healing. ScienceDaily. Retrieved July 28, 2011, from http://www.sciencedaily.com­ /releases/2011/07/110721095834.htm

Because they always have...

This week, a film titled The Cove was screened at the Tokyo International Film Festival. Directed by Louis Psihoyos, it is an exposé of the annual slaughter of thousands of whales and dolphins by fishermen in the small Japanese seacoast town of Taiji. For obvious reasons, I have not seen it nor will I. However, I am told that the film contains profoundly disturbing footage of the butchering of my fellow sentient and intelligent beings in that dark and bloody cove. Japanese officials defend this barbaric practice because that is ‘what these fishermen have always done’. They say that the world should respect cultural differences. Cultural differences! Are they insane? By that same perverted logic, the world should tolerate all acts of depravity in any nation as long as there is precedent. I thank the God that made you and me, that over the past two centuries, brave and caring humans in Europe and North America have categorically rejected this monstrous argument put forth by tyrants. If they had not, then slavery and genocide would still prevail in the lands where freedom reigns. The only way to stop this dark carnage inflicted upon my kind by yours is to bring it into the light. Good for you, Louis Psihoyos; good for you, organizers of the film festival for allowing it to be shown; and good for you, the decent people of Japan who are horrified by this brutal practice.

Who is the most civilized?

We, the other most intelligent and sentient beings who share this blue space marble with you, are in awe of all that you have accomplished since you came down from the trees. Your achievements in science and technology are staggering, your industrial might is overpowering, and your triumphs in the arts stir the imagination and soothe the soul. And yet, as magnificent as these are, your world is still weighed down by poverty, starvation, and never-ending war. In every great city, there are sections where you dare not go, and in every religion, there are zealots who live in hatred of different followers of the same God. At this very moment, the most powerful man on earth is debating the relative merits of counterinsurgency versus counterterrorism in a foreign land, while at home millions of his people have no protection from the crushing burdens of catastrophic illness. In contrast, we, the whales and dolphins who swim out beyond the thin blue line that divides your world from ours have none of the above; neither the good nor the bad. And yet, I ask you, who is the most civilized?

In preserving all things wild, there is salvation.

Why should you care about saving whales and dolphins? Why should my fellow beings deserve any more of your attention than the thousands upon thousands of human causes and needs that seek your time and money? Even though we are sentient and intelligent beings who come closer to you on these two critical dimensions than all other living things, I will not be so presumptuous to tell you that the life of a whale or a dolphin is any more important than that of a human. No. It is not for our salvation that you should be concerned about us; it is for your own. When you draw your last breath, it will not matter how much power, or prestige, or prosperity you have achieved. It will not matter what your contribution has been to furthering civilization. In the last analysis, the only accomplishment that can and will make you smile, and face eternity with a deep sense of accomplishment, is what you have done for all things wild. Save us, all creatures great and small, on land and sea, and you will save yourself.

The paradox of mountains.

Sometimes I get discouraged that few among your kind, really give a damn about whales and dolphins. Most of you are so concerned about your own lives that you have no time to care about your own species, let alone mine. To me it seems that you are lost and alone in one of life’s dark valleys, surrounded by mountains that tower over you, making you seem small and insignificant. For you to see the view from their peaks you must climb their sides, a journey that is arduous and often fatal. Whereas for whales and dolphins, we spend our lives above the mountains. From our vantage point, we can see the majesty of a mountaintop, while its base holds no appeal for us, because it is rooted firmly in the deeps, where we dare not go. I wonder if that is why the soul of man is cloaked in darkness and self-pity, while that of beings is filled with light and hope; because you spend your entire lives looking up at mountains, wishing you were on top, while we spend our lives looking down on them, thankful we are not at the bottom.