New York Mermaid
05-03-2012, 01:14 AM
Some actual News About the Wayward dolphin:
High school’s not the only place to find a bully these days — apparently they’re underwater as well.
A black-and-white common dolphin found off the coast of Southern California on Thursday is now under the watchful eye of wildlife experts who believe he was forced into the area by a group of aggressive dolphins.
“This dolphin was intimidated,” said Peter Wallerstein (http://www.nydailynews.com/topics/Peter+Wallerstein), director of the Friends of Animals Marine Animal Rescue program in El Segundo.
The animal was found swimming in shallow water near El Segundo last week, in an area where dolphins ordinarily would not stay for a long period of time.
Though it showed all the signs of being healthy, its presence was mysterious.
“It showed some disorientation, swimming in large circles for a while,” Wallerstein said.
When wildlife workers got on paddle boards Saturday to help move the animal back into the ocean, a group of dolphins appeared and attacked until the dolphin returned to the shallow waters.
“This dolphin was 100 yards past the bridge on its way to freedom and it was aggressively approached by other dolphins,” Wallerstein said. “The demeanor changed immediately. It was very aggressive, very violent, erratic swimming.”
While the motivation for this case of bullying is unclear, a study released in March found that male dolphins can gang up and intimidate each other to protect their females.
“They do get in fights. They are in these incredible gangs — we call them ‘alliances.’ There are big fights between groups over their females,” the study’s co-author Richard Connor (http://www.nydailynews.com/topics/Richard+Connor) told ABC News. “Just like people they have squabbles. Relationships are complicated.”
For now, Wallerstein says the dolphin is happy and the rescue team is taking its reintegration into the ocean “day by day.”
“We’re not concerned about the health of the animal right now,” he said. “We don’t want to force the animal out only to have a potential confrontation with the other dolphins that might be in the harbor...We want to do the best thing for the animal.”
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/california-dolphin-bullied-dolphins-wildlife-expert-article-1.1071504
*Im worried about this little guy so much, however i heard recently he's heading past the bridge toward open ocean.. keep your fingers crossed for him*
High school’s not the only place to find a bully these days — apparently they’re underwater as well.
A black-and-white common dolphin found off the coast of Southern California on Thursday is now under the watchful eye of wildlife experts who believe he was forced into the area by a group of aggressive dolphins.
“This dolphin was intimidated,” said Peter Wallerstein (http://www.nydailynews.com/topics/Peter+Wallerstein), director of the Friends of Animals Marine Animal Rescue program in El Segundo.
The animal was found swimming in shallow water near El Segundo last week, in an area where dolphins ordinarily would not stay for a long period of time.
Though it showed all the signs of being healthy, its presence was mysterious.
“It showed some disorientation, swimming in large circles for a while,” Wallerstein said.
When wildlife workers got on paddle boards Saturday to help move the animal back into the ocean, a group of dolphins appeared and attacked until the dolphin returned to the shallow waters.
“This dolphin was 100 yards past the bridge on its way to freedom and it was aggressively approached by other dolphins,” Wallerstein said. “The demeanor changed immediately. It was very aggressive, very violent, erratic swimming.”
While the motivation for this case of bullying is unclear, a study released in March found that male dolphins can gang up and intimidate each other to protect their females.
“They do get in fights. They are in these incredible gangs — we call them ‘alliances.’ There are big fights between groups over their females,” the study’s co-author Richard Connor (http://www.nydailynews.com/topics/Richard+Connor) told ABC News. “Just like people they have squabbles. Relationships are complicated.”
For now, Wallerstein says the dolphin is happy and the rescue team is taking its reintegration into the ocean “day by day.”
“We’re not concerned about the health of the animal right now,” he said. “We don’t want to force the animal out only to have a potential confrontation with the other dolphins that might be in the harbor...We want to do the best thing for the animal.”
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/california-dolphin-bullied-dolphins-wildlife-expert-article-1.1071504
*Im worried about this little guy so much, however i heard recently he's heading past the bridge toward open ocean.. keep your fingers crossed for him*