Where do these mammals come from?

[golok]

Some time ago, I read of a story where a man was stranded at sea infested with man-eating sharks.

At the height of his watery terror, not knowing which minute would be his last, a school of dolphins approached him.

The saga that unfolded was the stuff that fairy tales are made of. The dolphins seemingly and playfully surrounded him. What they were actually doing, as the man eventually found out, was protecting him from the nearby sharks.

The man lived to tell his tale so that others may marvel at this unusual adventure.

I have heard of other "strange", almost human-like behaviour of other mammals where they actually acted in unanimal-like ways to save a victim or victims in a life-threatening situation.

Is there actually an unexplored channel of communication between humans and animals that sort of activates itself in dire and desperate circumstances?

 

[Nobody]

Bottlenose dolphins have a larger brain per body size when compared to humans (we only think we have the biggest brains on the planet). Additionally, the dolphins have a more convoluted surface area to their brains than we do (ie. their brains are more complex). In understanding how dolphins communicate, they have made much farther leaps in understanding our fabricated means of communication in the tests than we have made in understanding their methods inter-dolphin communication.

Just because they don't have an opposable thumb, and therefore don't use tools and technology, doesn't mean they aren't as intelligent as we are. Their "intelligence" and worldview would be so radically different and alien from ours, given our different evolutionary paths, that it would be difficult to bridge that gap even if both species intentionally tried to undertake that path. Look at what a difficult time eastern and western human cultures have with communication, and we're the same species.

This long-winded post is just to say that I personally believe, based on my reading, that it is very likely dolphins are a highly intelligent species but their modes of thinking are radically different from ours given our separate evolutionary paths and indigenous environments.

Sincerest Regards,
Nobody