Posted on 01/04/2005 8:46:12 AM PST by Rodney King
KHAO LAK, Thailand (AP) -- Singing, clapping and banging their boats with paddles, rescue workers tried unsuccessfully Tuesday to herd a humpback dolphin and her calf into nets so they could be rescued from a small lagoon where the Asian tsunamis dumped them nine days earlier.
The dolphins, spotted Monday a kilometer (more than a half mile) from the beach by a man searching for his wife, have become a symbol of hope amid the death and destruction caused by the massive waves that crushed posh tourist resorts....
"When we heard the good news about survivors, even though they're dolphins, it's great news," said Suwit Khunkitti, Thailand's minister of natural resources and environment. "I'm sure that everyone is happy to see at least some life after the tsunami...."
It was unclear how much longer the dolphins could survive in the murky, stagnating mixture of salt water and fresh water that was likely dehydrating them. There were also concerns that the dolphins have no live fish to eat....
Even before Tuesday's effort began, American dolphin expert Jim Styers gave it only a 50-50 chance of success.... . The Greek divers were unhappy to be forced out of the rescue effort, saying dolphins were considered to be almost human in their homeland....
"It's very, very important for us to rescue these dolphins because they're the only things that survived the disaster ... the only signs of life," diver Estimios Papantonis said....
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
Says more about Greeks than it does Dolphins.
The only things that survived? Shouldn't that put human losses in the 100 Million range?
I always loved the Rush line, "If Dolphins are so smart, show me one hospital built by a dolphin."
Good news! 150,000 people are dead, but we saved two dolphins!
"I always loved the Rush line, "If Dolphins are so smart, show me one hospital built by a dolphin.""
They also cannot play football.
You know, the people might not be saving these Dolphins at all. Since they are so smart, perhaps they have decided to stay in this lagoon, their sixth sense telling them that another Tsnumai is on the way.
"They also cannot play football." - Ouch! (Miamian here..)
Before you start being nasty to dolphins, you should remember that some were working for your chaps during the war in Iraq, helping to clear minefields.
Splendid little blighter, the Dolphin.
I have no problem with Dolphins, just with the people who think they are such a high form of intelligence.
How do you know these are the only two casualties? As anyone combed the entire Indian Ocean looking for dead dolphins?
I AGREE WITH YOU COMPLETELY. I am a dolphin fan myself.
Study after study shows dolphins to be one of the smartest animals on the planet. The Navy has been using them years to plant bombs on ships.
Yeah. So? Doesn't make them smarter than us like all the Dolphin lovers state.
Animals are not smarter than us but they can sense natural disasters before the effects shows up.
With what sense? Sure, they are more in tune with nature than us, and can sense vibrations and pressure drops that we don't (although probably could if we lived in the wild). But they don't sense "before" the effects show up. they don't have magical powers. At least these two dolphins didn't anyways.
I'd love to have the eyes of an eagle and the hearing and smell of a dog. No doubt about it, ceartin animals have better senses than humans.
After I work in the yard I smell like a dog.
Why aren't they being carved up as steaks for the local starving masses?
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