Amazon.co.uk Reviews
Dolphins have held a special appeal for humans since ancient times according to Michael Bright, author of
Dolphins, one of three spin-off books from the hugely successful
Blue Planet book and TV series. In
Dolphins, Bright a senior producer in the BBC TV's world-acclaimed Natural History Unit and author of many books on wildlife, provides a beautifully illustrated and fascinating introduction to these wonderful mammals that gave up life on land and returned to the water over 40 million years ago.
Dolphins are in fact toothed whales whose grace, playfulness and friendliness, coupled with their apparent intelligence, have endeared them to most people. But as Bright shows the reality of dolphin's private lives is only just being revealed and the emerging picture is not always what dolphin-lovers have come to expect. Dolphins--warts and all--are more human-like than we thought. There are stories of divers being rescued from sharks but there are also stories of male dolphin gangs who terrorise certain neighbourhoods killing smaller porpoises and even killing young dolphins. Such infanticide is not uncommon in other mammals including chimps and humans.
On a more cheerful note Bright reports on all the fascinating research into dolphin learning and communication skills. It appears that dolphins can appreciate meaning and word order, act upon new, unfamiliar instructions, appreciate sameness and differences between objects and label items with symbols, and refer to objects that are not present. With an illustration on almost every page, Dolphins portrays the lives of these remarkable mammals who rank alongside the other whales, elephants and primates as much more complex and intelligent than generally appreciated. With advice on how to watch dolphins, help conserve them and on where to find further information, Dolphins along with its companion volumes (Killer Whales and Extraordinary Fish) is an excellent introduction for the general reader and particularly school children. --Douglas Palmer
Synopsis
TV tie-in: The Blue Planet on ABC-TV late 2001. People like dolphins. But they are not always what they seem. This looks at current research, the scientific community's fascination with dolphins' 'intelligent' behaviour. There are 30 species of dolphin, each with its own lifestyle and place in the ocean. Upper primary age upwards.
