Friendly dolphins help Brazilian fishermen to catch fish.
~ Top image: Tolomea/Flickr. Article content from io9.com“We think of dolphins as playful — but they may also be more cunning than we ever realized. A subset of the dolphin population in Laguna, Brazil has started cooperating with human fishing expeditions. The dolphins will help people get better catches, in return for whatever the fisherman discard. They’ll drive schools of mullet towards the fisherman, and they even signal when and where to cast the nets.”
“Newly published research has looked at the dolphins who are helping out in this unique way. What the scientists discovered is that the sea mammals that cooperated with the humans were more social than the ones that didn’t, both within their own species, and with ours. The researchers believe this is to do with social learning practices, where these skills can be passed between the more connected dolphins.”
“What’s intriguing to me is how close this skirts to the origins of domestication. By cooperating with these select dolphins, we’re feeding them more, and giving them potentially a better chance at survival, and passing on the cooperative skills. Tell me that doesn’t sound like the first stages of what happened with dogs? Now we just need a few thousand years to breed them into the dolphin equivalent of a lapdog.”
Incredibly interesting. Dolphins are too smart to ever become pets, though.
The Lofoten Islands of Reine, Norway, taken from atop Reinebringen Mountain
(via blua)
Amazing. Incredible to see how small things look from way up there.
Winged Victory of Samothrace, 190 BC
Standing triumphantly atop the Louvre’s grand staircase, this is one of the most awe-inspiring and memorable pieces of art you’ll ever see. I still remember when I saw it ten years ago; at just under eleven feet tall, it took my breath away. Sculpted 2,200 years ago, it still amazes and inspires millions every year. What an incredible feat.
Puyehue is still burning. (Martin Bernetti)
NG: A half-mile block of 40-story buildings could fit inside this lit stretch of Hang Son Doong in Vietnam, which may be the world’s largest subterranean passage.
The cave was found by a local man named Hồ-Khanh in 1991, however, it was only made public in 2009 when a group of British scientists conducted a survey, which determined it to be the world’s largest cave. It has a jungle inside and the end is out of sight.
I can’t wait to see this movie. Watch the trailer here.
Jim Carrey is one of my favorite actors so I already wanted to see it, but to find out that this crazy story is true!?!
Read about the movie’s subject Steven Jay Russell. Truly one of the most amazing things I’ve ever read. The man is a genius and he should not be in prison!
Wild crows inhabiting the city use it to their advantage - David Attenborough - BBC wildlife (via BBCWorldwide)
Crows are among the smartest birds alive. I went on a super-smart bird-watching binge last night. This video is my favorite; these are other incredible examples: Bird & Emery; Weir et al.; & National Geographic.
