"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
Monday, August 1, 2011
Monday, July 25, 2011
The Evil Eye of Envy
Two recent news stories provide further evidence of the intelligence and sentience of whales and dolphins, while the reaction of some to the stories confirms the ignorance and arrogance of man.
In the first case, which occurred recently off the coast of California, a humpback whale that had been entangled in fishing nets breached 40 times around the boat of the three men who had cut the nets and saved the whale from certain death. The men interpreted this behavior as an act of both joy and thanks. The second incident, this one in Australia, was sadder but no less revealing. In it, a pod of dolphins surrounded the body of a young man who had tragically fallen into a harbor and drowned. One of the dolphins was seen trying to push the man back to the surface, apparently in a vain attempt to try to save him. These are just two of the many examples of whales and dolphins displaying thoughtful behavior toward humans, several of which have been featured in this blog (e.g., May 10, 2010 & July 31, 2009 postings).
And yet, as touching and telling as these stories are to most of us, they always evoke vitriolic reactions on the part of others who seem threatened by the possibility that humans are not the only thinking and feeling beings on earth. That has proven to be true once again, judging by the angry comments posted on each of these news stories disavowing any anthropomorphic interpretation of the actions by this whale and dolphin. Thankfully, these unhappy few who see the world through the evil eye of envy, and who are afflicted by some deep psychological need for schadenfreude, are the exception not the rule. For those of us who are comfortable with our own place in the universe, and who rejoice in the magic and majesty of whales and dolphins, such stories stir the spirit and soothe the soul.
In the first case, which occurred recently off the coast of California, a humpback whale that had been entangled in fishing nets breached 40 times around the boat of the three men who had cut the nets and saved the whale from certain death. The men interpreted this behavior as an act of both joy and thanks. The second incident, this one in Australia, was sadder but no less revealing. In it, a pod of dolphins surrounded the body of a young man who had tragically fallen into a harbor and drowned. One of the dolphins was seen trying to push the man back to the surface, apparently in a vain attempt to try to save him. These are just two of the many examples of whales and dolphins displaying thoughtful behavior toward humans, several of which have been featured in this blog (e.g., May 10, 2010 & July 31, 2009 postings).
And yet, as touching and telling as these stories are to most of us, they always evoke vitriolic reactions on the part of others who seem threatened by the possibility that humans are not the only thinking and feeling beings on earth. That has proven to be true once again, judging by the angry comments posted on each of these news stories disavowing any anthropomorphic interpretation of the actions by this whale and dolphin. Thankfully, these unhappy few who see the world through the evil eye of envy, and who are afflicted by some deep psychological need for schadenfreude, are the exception not the rule. For those of us who are comfortable with our own place in the universe, and who rejoice in the magic and majesty of whales and dolphins, such stories stir the spirit and soothe the soul.
Monday, July 18, 2011
Because We Can...
Great toothed whales slowly starve to death, their guts blocked by plastic garbage they have swallowed in seas awash with man's refuse...
Pilot whales strand themselves on lonely beaches, there to die agonizing deaths, their brains fried by Navy sonar...
Killer whales inexorably go insane trapped in confined concrete tanks that are proportionately the same size as prison cells on man's death row...
Baleen whales are slaughtered on the high seas then butchered on blood-covered decks of Japanese, Norwegian, and Icelandic whaling ships...
Adult dolphins are disemboweled alive by uncaring men in a cove in Taiji, Japan, and in the seas surrounding the Faroe Islands...
Baby dolphins die in record numbers in the oil-polluted waters of the Gulf of Mexico...
And on, and on, and on...
Why? Why do we humans do this to the only other creatures that possess a level of intelligence and sentience closely approaching ours?
Because we can, and for that reason this is a sadder planet and we are a lesser people.
Pilot whales strand themselves on lonely beaches, there to die agonizing deaths, their brains fried by Navy sonar...
Killer whales inexorably go insane trapped in confined concrete tanks that are proportionately the same size as prison cells on man's death row...
Baleen whales are slaughtered on the high seas then butchered on blood-covered decks of Japanese, Norwegian, and Icelandic whaling ships...
Adult dolphins are disemboweled alive by uncaring men in a cove in Taiji, Japan, and in the seas surrounding the Faroe Islands...
Baby dolphins die in record numbers in the oil-polluted waters of the Gulf of Mexico...
And on, and on, and on...
Why? Why do we humans do this to the only other creatures that possess a level of intelligence and sentience closely approaching ours?
Because we can, and for that reason this is a sadder planet and we are a lesser people.
Monday, July 4, 2011
Corruption on the High Seas!
It is a sad testimonial to our time that we see greed and corruption everywhere we look; in business, in government, in schools, and even in houses of worship: so it should come as no surprise to anyone that we also find it on the high seas; or at least in the global organization that is supposedly the protector of the great whales that live therein. The International Whaling Commission, which currently has 89 member nations, issued a moratorium on commercial whaling in 1986. However, under a scientific research loophole three members have continued to slaughter thousands of whales each year ever since; they are Norway, Iceland and by far the worst offender, Japan. And not only has Japan continued to flaunt this loophole in the face of the anti-whaling movement, but the Japanese government has allegedly been working to get smaller member nations to join with them in having the moratorium lifted. They are doing this by offering aid packages and directly bribing high-ranking individuals in these countries.
If Japan succeeds in this monstrous effort, the oceans of the world will literally be awash once more in the blood of tens of thousands of the most majestic creatures that ever lived, and there will be nothing that you or I can do to stop it. But right now, it is not too late for those of us who care about the great whales to do our part in saving them.
The IWC will hold their annual meeting from July 11 through the 14, on Jersey in the Channel Islands, and it is encouraging to note that the British Government has embarked on a concerted effort to clean up the corruption in the IWC. Those of you who live in Great Britain should show your support for your government's noble efforts; and all of you who live in one of the other member nations (the list is available on line) should reach out to your government and demand that they add their support to the British efforts.
Please do it now! This is not just about stopping corruption in the IWC: it is about saving the lives of countless whales that will otherwise be persecuted without mercy or respite.
If Japan succeeds in this monstrous effort, the oceans of the world will literally be awash once more in the blood of tens of thousands of the most majestic creatures that ever lived, and there will be nothing that you or I can do to stop it. But right now, it is not too late for those of us who care about the great whales to do our part in saving them.
The IWC will hold their annual meeting from July 11 through the 14, on Jersey in the Channel Islands, and it is encouraging to note that the British Government has embarked on a concerted effort to clean up the corruption in the IWC. Those of you who live in Great Britain should show your support for your government's noble efforts; and all of you who live in one of the other member nations (the list is available on line) should reach out to your government and demand that they add their support to the British efforts.
Please do it now! This is not just about stopping corruption in the IWC: it is about saving the lives of countless whales that will otherwise be persecuted without mercy or respite.
Monday, June 27, 2011
Dolphins Do Double Freqs.
Yikes! Science Daily reports that researchers from Sweden and the US have discovered that dolphins and porpoises are capable of sending out high-frequency sound, or ultrasound, at two different frequencies at the same time (see reference below). Dr. Josefin Starkhammar is an obviously brilliant newly minted PhD in Electrical Measurements at Lund University. She developed a device with 47 hydrophones that facilitated this incredible discovery. (She also has a Master's degree in Engineering Physics). She states that this dual echolocation ability enables dolphins to better locate objects. I suspect that there is much more to it than simply finding their dinner, and Dr. Starkhammer admits that "...we humans have a lot to learn from dolphins." Notwithstanding her appropriately objective understatement, it is exciting to see that science continues to push the boundaries of our understanding of these remarkable beings. Someday we might even learn their language and who knows what they will be able to teach us then! I bet they won't make us perform stupid people tricks...
Reference: Lund University (2011, June 8). Dolphins use double sonar: Researchers discover that dolphins can generate two sound beam projections simultaneously. ScienceDaily. Retrieved June 26, 2011, from http://www.sciencedaily.com /releases/2011/06/110607112338.htm
Reference: Lund University (2011, June 8). Dolphins use double sonar: Researchers discover that dolphins can generate two sound beam projections simultaneously. ScienceDaily. Retrieved June 26, 2011, from http://www.sciencedaily.com /releases/2011/06/110607112338.htm
Monday, June 20, 2011
Seas Run Red with Blood Again
Just when we thought that the great whales were safe from the exploding harpoons and long knives of Japanese 'research' ships, death stalks them on the high seas once more. This time it is in the Pacific not the Southern Ocean where many will die a gruesome and violent death. The Japanese whaling fleet cut its 2010-2011 season short in February after slaughtering 172 whales, 20% of their normal kill. This was mainly due to the continuing efforts of Paul Watson and the members of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society; intrepid sailors who risk their lives to harass the whalers. It was a short-lived victory. Last week, Japan announced that it has sent out its whaling fleet to the northwest Pacific to kill another 260 whales for 'scientific research' purposes.
As this blog has noted many times before, this mindless slaughter will continue unabated in the face of worldwide condemnation; not because there is a commercial use for whale meat or any scientific value in butchering whales; there is none for either. It is because the conflict has devolved into what the Japanese government sees as an imperialistic assault upon their culture. And until the good and decent people of Japan demand that their government put an end to this barbaric practice, no amount of pleading, cajoling, or threatening by foreigners will stop the killing. And so it is that the seas will once again run red with the blood of these magnificent, sentient, and intelligent beings.
As this blog has noted many times before, this mindless slaughter will continue unabated in the face of worldwide condemnation; not because there is a commercial use for whale meat or any scientific value in butchering whales; there is none for either. It is because the conflict has devolved into what the Japanese government sees as an imperialistic assault upon their culture. And until the good and decent people of Japan demand that their government put an end to this barbaric practice, no amount of pleading, cajoling, or threatening by foreigners will stop the killing. And so it is that the seas will once again run red with the blood of these magnificent, sentient, and intelligent beings.
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