Are dolphins and humans really friends?
As two of the most intelligent species on the planet, humans and dolphins share a mutual curiosity — some would even go so far as to call it a friendship. But is it really?
A special bond?
Belief in the existence of a special relationship between dolphins and humans has been fueled by the creature's remarkable traits, from their high levels of intelligence and complex communication to their interest in and perceived concern for people. But do they care as much about humans as we like to think they do? And how good a friend are we really to dolphins?
X-ray vision
It may be dolphins' ability to recognize similarities between themselves and humans that makes us interesting to them, and triggers their instinct to save humans in distress. Dolphins use sonar to probe their prey like an X-ray. With our skeletons and lungs, we as mammals may appear similar to them. Dolphins find pregnant women especially fascinating and can even detect an unborn baby's heartbeat.
A beautiful mind
Dolphins are second only to humans for their brain-to-body ratio. Other factors attesting to dolphins' smarts: they understand artificially-created language, use tools, co-operate to solve problems — one test showed two dolphins knew they needed to work together to open a tube filled with fish — and pass the mirror self-recognition test of recognizing themselves in their reflection.
Trying to understand 'Dolphinese'
Dolphins have complex communication, but the big question is: Do they have their own language? Could humans and dolphins one day talk to one another? For decades, scientists have been on the case — in the 1960s, controversial researcher John Lilly even injected dolphins with LSD to find out. The result: Though dolphins on LSD were more vocal, the drug failed to advance human-dolphin communication.
The lone sociable dolphin
Dolphins are very social creatures and are rarely alone. But there are several cases of the 'lone sociable dolphin' — where a solitary dolphin's need for social contact means it appears to turn to humans as a substitute for its own kind. But rather than friendly curiosity, studies suggest this may have been borne out of dolphins' "misdirected sexual behavior," such as trying to mount swimmers.
Human-dolphin aggression
Interactions with dolphins are not always friendly – there have been multiple cases of dolphins dragging humans out to sea or even down toward the seabed, leading to injuries including broken ribs and worse. Possibly a reaction by the dolphin to perceived harassment from humans, it's difficult to say for sure whether these are intentional attacks or rough play.
Dolphin-unfriendly tourism
Swimming with dolphins is a life goal for many people, and a major source of tourism — but some authorities around the world are trying to put a stop to it to prevent harassment of dolphins. In Hawaii, concern over swimmers approaching spinner dolphins and disturbing their sleep patterns has led to new proposed rules that would ban anyone from getting within 50 yards (45 meters) of the animals.
Under threat from their human ‘friends’
Dolphins are facing threats from humans on multiple fronts. Netting is one — a 2017 report showed that 15 dolphins were killed in 2015-16 by meshing meant to keep sharks away from Australia's New South Wales beaches. Other threats faced by dolphin species include pollution, habitat loss and climate change as rising ocean temperatures impact their prey populations.