Mark Caney's Blog, page 35

Win a copy of Dolphin Way

Goodreads Book Giveaway


Dolphin Way
by Mark Caney

Giveaway ends July 28, 2013.

See the giveaway details

at Goodreads.

Enter to win

 

Dolphins try to save companion

Common dolphins have been seen gathering to aid a dying companion, trying to support it in the water and help it breathe.

This is the first time that a group of dolphins has been recorded trying to help or save another dying dolphin.

Korean-based scientists witnessed the event in the East Sea off the coast of Ulsan, in South Korea.

Five individual dolphins formed a raft with their bodies in an attempt to keep the stricken dolphin afloat.

Details of the behaviour are reported in the journal Marine Mammal Science.

Healthy cetaceans, the group of animals that includes whales and dolphins, have been seen attempting to provide supportive care to individuals before.

For example, in the mid-20th Century, a bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) in captivity was seen lifting her stillborn calf to the surface with her back.

Wild bottlenose dolphins have also been seen supporting dead or stillborn calves near the surface, while some have been recorded stimulating their babies by biting them.

But all previous examples involved just one or two adult dolphins trying to rescue a calf.

Now Kyum J Park of the Cetacean Research Institute in Ulsan, Korea, and colleagues report an incident when up to 10 long-beaked common dolphins (Delphinus capensis) tried to save the life of another adult.

The researchers routinely monitor cetaceans off the South Korean coast.

During one survey, they encountered a group of long-beaked common dolphins containing more that 400 individuals being followed by approximately 500 streaked shearwaters.

Both dolphins and birds were foraging, and the research vessel approached and observed the pod several times.

A small group of dolphins had separated from the pod and were splashing near to the boat.

Closer observation revealed at least 12 individuals swimming very slowly.

Among them, one dolphin was wriggling about, its body leaning over, with its abdomen showing to the surface.

Though it could move and splash its tail, its flippers appeared to be paralysed and it had red marks on its belly.

A number of dolphins circled this group, while those within appeared to be trying to help the stricken dolphin maintain its balance, by pushing it from the side and below.

Then the 10 remaining dolphins took turns to form a raft using their bodies.

Five dolphins at a time lined up horizontally into a raft-like formation, maintaining it while the stricken dolphin moved on top and rode on their backs.

One of the dolphins in the raft even flipped over its body to better support the ailing dolphin above, while another used its beak to try to keep the dying dolphin’s head up.

A few minutes later the stricken dolphin appeared to die, its body hanging vertically in the water, with its head above the surface. It wasn’t breathing.

Five of its associates continued to interact with the dead dolphin’s body, rubbing and touching it, or swimming underneath, releasing bubbles onto it.

They carried on this way despite the dead dolphin’s body showing signs of rigor mortis, say the researchers.

Source: BBC, January 2013

‘Dolphin Tale’ sequel planned

Warner Brothers is preparing to make a sequel to “Dolphin Tale.” The new film will feature much of the original cast including Ashley Judd, Morgan Freeman and Harry Connick Jr.

It will also feature Winter, the star attraction of the Clearwater Marine Aquarium that swims with the aid of a prosthetic tail, WTSP said. The newest film will tell the true story of a baby dolphin, Hope, rescued by the Clearwater Aquarium in 2010, according to the Hollywood Reporter. Hope will play herself in the film.

The Reporter said the film is scheduled to begin production in the fall and to be released in September 2014.

 

Source: Tampa Bay Business Journal

Death of Dolphin in China Sparks Outrage

The death of a dolphin in China that was photographed with beachgoers handling it shortly beforehand has sparked outrage on the country’s social media sites.

Tourists on the South China beach near a resort in Hainan Province reportedly flocked to the stranded dolphin to take pictures, with a group of men lifting the animal out of the water to pose with it. They posted photos to China’s version of Twitter, called Sina Weibo.

According to official Chinese news agency Xinhua, lifeguards arrived to disperse the crowds and protect the dolphin until fisheries officials arrived around 7 p.m. local time to take the mammal for treatment. It died around 11 p.m. local time.

Social media users blamed the dolphin’s death on the handling it received from the tourists, according tonews reports.

It’s hard to say how much, or if, the physical contact with humans contributed to the mammal’s death, said Erin Fourgeres, a marine mammal biologist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Marine Fisheries Service in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Fourgeres said that one of the pictures of the dolphin out of the water showed the animal arching its back, which is a stress response.

“[But] if animals are stranded, there’s generally something wrong with them,” she explained. So the dolphin in China was likely sick or injured to begin with. “With that said,” Fourgeres continued, “we would never advise anyone to go pick up the animal.”

She also emphasized that handling a stranded animal can be dangerous for humans. Dolphins have strong tails and sharp teeth, she said, and “you can get hurt if you don’t handle the animal appropriately.”

Read full story: National Geographic

 

See also this separate report:

Cardigan Bay dolphins ‘sent north’ by water sports noise

Speedboats and water bikes using Cardigan Bay may be driving its famous dolphins over a hundred miles north to quieter waters, experts have warned. Bottlenose dolphins usually spend the summer months in the sea off Ceredigion before heading to north Wales and the Isle of Man for winter. But research suggests they are spending less time in Cardigan Bay and noisy water sports could be partly to blame. The Sea Watch Foundation has called for better protection for the mammals.

Cardigan Bay has the largest population of bottlenose dolphins in the UK and as a tourist attraction they are important to the economy.

While the dolphin population in the area has remained unchanged in recent years – there are usually between 300 to 350 – marine experts say they have noticed a change in their behaviour.

Daphna Feingold, Sea Watch Foundation’s monitoring officer in Cardigan Bay, said that while other factors could be at play, such as changes in fish stock, prey and pollution, there was concern that an increase in recreational boat use was having an effect.

“We know that the dolphins use the waters around Anglesey and the Isle of Man in the winter months, usually between October and March or April,” she said.

“But in the past two to three years we have seen the dolphins using these more northern waters in some of the summer months too.”

“It’s not that they’re moving away from Cardigan Bay entirely but they are using the area differently.”

She said there were other changes to the dolphins which suggested they were being affected by an increase in water sports.

Research has shown they are clubbing together in large groups more and whistling louder to communicate – behaviour which is typical of the mammals in noisy waters.

 

Full story by Gemma Ryall: BBC

New video evidence of dolphin cruelty

From Whale and Dolphin Conservation (WDC)

Brand new video evidence of dolphin cruelty. Help us stop the horror behind the curtain.



We are sure you’ll be shocked and saddened by this video.

Every year, hundreds of dolphins are killed in brutal hunts in the Cove, Taiji, Japan. Those not killed are sold and flown to marine parks around the world. Large amounts of money are paid for each dolphin and this profit finances the slaughter.

YOU CAN DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. Sign our petition now 

Deadly cat feces killing thousands of marine mammals

Feces, specifically from outdoor cats and wild possums, are the culprit in some severe and unusual marine mammal deaths.

Despite the continued online popularity of the videoed interaction between a nuzzling cat and curious dolphin, scientists are pointing out that the intersection between the two species could be having a catastrophic effect on the marine mammals.

A disturbing trend was found in a six-year study that monitored marine mammals in the Pacific Northwest. More than 5,000 dead marine mammals (dolphins, porpoises, sea otters, seals, sea lions and three species of whale) were observed, many of them suffering from encephalitis (brain swelling) long associated with Toxoplasma gondii, a single-celled parasite. The study was published by the National Institutes of Health in 2011.

The issue at hand is the feces from outdoor cats. The waste product contains T. gondii, a parasite that live its entire life cycle inside a cat. T. gondii also is happy enough in other animals, including humans and, as noted, marine mammals.

According to Scientific American, up to one-quarter of people in the U.S. house the parasite, and it is the reason why women are warned against cleaning cat litter boxes while pregnant (the parasite can cause birth defects).

 

Source: MSN News by Anastasia Poland

Stranded baby porpoise rescued in Dublin

The little mammal beached on Tuesday afternoon and once spotted, a rescue plan was put into action by the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group. They requested the assistance of the Irish Coastguard and a team from nearby Howth launched a boat. A spokesperson for Howth Coastguard said: “The decision was made to bring the baby mammal who was beached back to the sea in the hope it would successfully swim away.” The precious bundle was placed into the boat and brought one kilometre out to the open water. There was initially a little hesitation about returning to the sea from Fungie Beag (Wee Fungie in Irish), who was named after Co Cork’s famous bottle nose dolphin Fungie. But, quickly Fungie Beag was swimming around and around, enjoying being returned to its natural environment. It is hoped that the baby has now been reunited with its mummy and daddy somewhere in the Irish Sea.

Source: UTV

Dolphin funeral?

There are so many times that we are made aware of the special nature of dolphins, their physical beauty, their intelligence and even their spiritual nature. I am a sceptic by nature and a journalist with legal training by profession, so when I write of spirituality among dolphins it does not come from my mystical side but from strict observation. Below is a report from Mike Riggs, who observed something marvellous and not a little sad off San Onofre, California.

Last Friday night I went surfing close to San Onofre power plant. When we got there we saw dolphins jumping towards a couple of surfers down the beach. I paddled out just before sunset and a large dolphin jumped towards me. I’ve seen that a thousand times so I thought it was cool, but no big deal. When I was sitting in the water I looked back at the beach. I noticed a shiny thing a quarter mile down the beach and thought it was a dead seal. I got a wave down towards it and went in to check it out. It was a large dead dolphin, 7 ft, healthy looking (it was dead but looked well fed, no large injuries.) It looked like its stomach was out of his mouth, and his anal area had spilled out a bit. But it was fully intact, teeth, fins, everything intact. Slightly bloated.

Half hour later the tide came up high enough to bring it back down into the shorebreak a bit. A few minutes after it was bobbing in the shorebreak, 20 dolphins came in to just past where the waves were breaking. I have never seen this, but they stood still in the water, about 15 ft apart, completely stationary with just the tips of their dorsal fins barely above the surface. They stayed 15 ft apart all spaced out, completely still, ALL facing the dead dolphin on the beach/shorebreak. They remained still, facing the dead one for 5 or 6 minutes. They didn’t move, stayed evenly spaced apart, all facing in. Then they slowly went back under and slowly swam away as a group.

It truly seemed to me like they were showing respect, almost reverence for the dead one. It was like a dolphin funeral. They weren’t being aggressive or curious, they were still, concentrating on the event. It was truly moving. I spend a lot of time on the beach and in the water. I’ve seen literally thousands of dolphins, and seen them do many things. But this was different. They were concentrating on their positioning, placement, direction they were facing and each other.

Source: Bluevoice

 

More reviews of Dolphin Way

Many thanks to all the readers who have taken the time to say how much they enjoyed reading Dolphin Way. Here are a few of the most recent comments on Amazon and Goodreads.

Dolphin Way is a book that will take you on a fantasy but also on a personal intellectual journey. It can be read as an imaginative story and at the same time as series of symbols of our society, how it was, how it is and how it could be with a little extra care. A book hard to put down from beginning to end, it makes you realize that the parameters by which we judge intelligence should not have boundaries and that we should rethink the way we approach life and use of it. For sure it will take you beyond the depths of the Ocean and the last dive. – Cristina

 

I read Dolphin Way and it has left a lasting impression. At the time I was involved in a campaign to free two dolphins in a dirty filthy swimming pool in Turkey. The dolphins were released to Born free just in time as much longer in the pool and they would have died. They were rehabilitated and taught to catch fish again. I was lucky to be invited by Born Free to the release. You must be wondering what this has to do with the book?? As we watched them swim away together after many years together we really thought they would remain that way. They had been close in the pool propping each other up when one was down It reminded me of this story. So it was with some surprise that we heard they had separated. Thinking about this story I can only imagine they came from different pods and they had gone to find their homes. Mark has written this story with a real insight into dolphin behaviour and I am amazed at the way I have been able to relate this story to a real life event. The story of Tom and Misha can be found on the Born Free page. I urge you all to read it and to then read Mark’s book. By doing so you will see how wrong the captive dolphin industry is. – Heather

 

Mark Caney’ s novel transported me to the amazing world of Ocean. His characters and writing style captured my imagination from the minute I opened this book until surprised I found myself on the last page. 5* rating and highly recommended for anyone interested in Cetaceans, marine life and our oceans. Eagerly awaiting the promised sequel. – Rita

 

One of the most enjoyable reads for me in a long, long time. I love the whole dolphin perspective, the characters, the story, the dolphin tradition, the clan, and the deeper message to us to look after out oceans. This story reaches out and touches the soul stirring a kinship between humans and dolphins that we should already be fully aware of. It’s a story for all ages. Can’t wait for the next one, and only hope this grows into a long, long series. – Jenni

 

When I first saw the review in Dive Log magazine I asked my wife to get it for me for Xmas. At first I had difficulty remembering the characters…old age I guess…but soon learnt them and was transported into the Dolphin’s world of

Ocean as opposed to Man’s Earth. Mark weaves an amazing story with great insight and imagination of the dolphin world that he calls The Dolphin Way. He deftly creates a whole culture of how dolphins have survived for thousands of years and gives real emotion to each character. Sky has become the hero and I can’t wait for the next installment to find out what happens to him. – Peter

 

I absolutely love this book. For the three days that it took me to read this book I was lost in the world of the dolphins. I could hardly put the book down – it took me three days only because I had to do things in the “normal” world! I really cannot wait for the next book in the series! Wonderful! Highly recommended! – Margaret

 

It is wonderful when you find a book that is so magical it transports you away from your everyday routines. I’ve just finished reading Mark Caney’s Dolphin Way and now feel at a loss as I’ve had to say goodbye to the world it took me to. Between the covers of this book I have lived among the dolphins. I have grown to love some wonderful characters, I have laughed, shed tears and followed their adventures with bated breath. I have listened to their fears for their home and for our planet and marvelled at their understanding of deep philosophies. As I close this exquisite book I am left with a deeper understanding of our world. If you want to read something very special then I highly recommend you read this beautiful dolphin story. I can’t wait to join this world again in Mark’s next novel. Thank you Mark for giving us Dolphin Way. – Felicity

To see the book trailer video go to dolphin-way.com