Sad pictures Dolphin tries to wake dead baby
A young dolphin drifts lifeless off the coast of Mallorca. An adult animal keeps nudging him. It turns out that the marine mammals can mourn.
No time? blue News summarizes for you
- Two sailors film an adult dolphin playing with a young animal off Santa Ponça.
- It turns out that the baby is dead.
- Dolphins sometimes need several days to come to terms with the death of a conspecific.
The behavior is well known. However, there is little video footage of it. On Monday, sailors filmed two dolphins in the bay off Santa Ponça. At first, they assumed that the two were playing. Until they discovered the sad truth.
While the calf floated lifelessly in the water, the adult animal tried to turn it over. It nudged the young animal over and over again. It seems as if the big dolphin is trying to wake the little one up again and encourage it to swim. It is reasonable to assume that the older marine mammal is a parent. But it is not certain.
Mourning phase lasting several days
It is known that dolphins can grieve for their conspecifics. This behavior has been observed in parents in particular. During the mourning phase, they remain close to the dead animal and repeatedly seek physical contact. This process can last for several days.
