Posted on 11/06/2009 2:08:17 PM PST by CounterCounterCulture
For the past five years, the growing number of dead harbor porpoises washing up on California shores has been a marine mystery — until now.
In September, marine biologists with Okeanis, a nonprofit conservation group based in Moss Landing, captured the only video footage taken in Monterey Bay of bottlenose dolphins attacking and killing a porpoise.
Scientists suspected dolphins, which have a relatively docile reputation, have been attacking the smaller porpoises because the porpoises have been washing up on the shore with rake marks and internal bleeding, but they never had any proof.
"Now we know the how, but we still are unsure of the why," said Daniela Maldini, president of the Okeanis board. "We have been observing the social structure of these animals and it has taken us 20 years to do that. This type of behavior is something new." Maldini has been monitoring the same group of about 600 dolphins since 1990. Maldini said Okeanis believes in collecting a variety of data before problems arise to better diagnose critical changes in the environment. But what they captured raises more questions than supplies answers.
The video shows a group of male dolphins using several techniques to assault a porpoise as it tries to get away. The dolphins corral the porpoise, ram it with their beaks, scrape or rake it with their teeth and drown the porpoise by jumping on top of it. The dolphins then bring the carcass up to the Okeanis researchers, watch them bring it on board and then swim away.
(Excerpt) Read more at mercurynews.com ...
South Park ping-worthy?
The Japanese know about those evil dolphins.
Intraspecies Hate Crimes
Dolphins are killing them on porpoise?
Nice to see the dolphins have found a porpoise in their lives.
These killer dolphins could only have existed as a result of the U.S. Navy’s evil “Marine Mammal Program”.
/S
So Long and Thanks For All The Porpoises.
Seems like they think the porpoises are spies for men.
I was thinking this must be ex POTUS Bush’s fault..
I don’t think they are doing it on porpoise.
Sonar makes them do it!
Maybe the dolphins, observing the researchers observing the porpoises, thought that the researchers wanted the porpoises, so they gave them to the researches.
Or, maybe there are now dolphin gangs.
I've known it all along, what with all the bottle-nose bruises or blow hole burns on the victims
Dolphin yutes.
Oh now we know the Porpoise were calling the Dolphins bad names.
Dolphins and porpoises eat the same food (fish). It’s possible that the dolphins are eliminating their competitors, the same way humans eliminate wolves and other carnivores that eat what we want to eat.
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