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Paul Bersebach / AP
A dolphin swims in wetlands at the Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve in Huntington Beach, Calif. Rescue crews tried over the weekend to guide the confused dolphin from the shallow waters of Bolsa Chica.
A lone dolphin that has spent the past five days swimming in the Bolsa Chica wetlands in Southern California may be the victim of bullying, NBCLosAngeles.com reported.
The dolphin may have been prevented from leaving the Huntington Beach nature preserve by other dolphins, Peter Wallerstein, director of Marine Animal Rescue told the Register. This would be a rare occurrence, as dolphins are social creatures that typically travel in a pod.
NBCLosAngeles.com: Dolphin chooses to stay in Bolsa Chica wetlands
“He was scared, he was intimidated, he was bullied,” Wallerstein told the Los Angeles Times. Dolphins "can be very aggressive toward each other. They’re not the sweet, loving, gentle animals portrayed by the movies and the cartoons. They do have a dark side.”
On Saturday, Wallerstein and officers from the state Department of Fish and Game used paddle boards to shoo the dolphin back to the ocean. When two other dolphins emerged, apparently blocking the lone dolphin's path back to the ocean, it dove under the paddle boards and swam back to the wetlands.
But Dennis Kelly, who has studied dolphins and marine life for 34 years, told the Orange County Register that he doubted the dolphin is being bullied.
“Maybe the others are angry,” Kelly, an instructor of Orange Coast College, said. “‘You’re lagging behind, you moron.’ Maybe they were going whack it. ‘You’re not paying attention. Slap! OK, we’re leaving.’”
On Monday, the 7-foot dolphin stayed put and fed on fish. Observers said the dolphin could figure out on its own how to return to the ocean via the narrow channel.
For now, marine life experts are adopting a hands-off approach while watching the dolphin around the clock.
Meantime, crowds have gathered and are beginning to name the dolphin, even if they don’t know its sex. Contenders are Fred and Bolsa Chica Bob.
More content from msnbc.com and NBC News:
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if dolphins lived on land, they would be pack animals. same causes and aame reasons. pack or pod, when the group of animal mammals reach a certain number of males or females, the others oust the young ones to find a new pod/pack. it is done by horses, by wolves and other mammals, for the same reasons. whales that live in pods to the same thing.
is it 'bullying'? no. bullying is unique to humans. an action of agression for all sorts of negative reasons. hate, spite, jealousy, racial dislike..... the list goes on.
but those of you who say it is the reporter getting on the 'bully' band wagon.......... you are oh so correct.
Isn't it more likely that humans exhibiting this behavior are really, at their core, trying to drive "oddities" out of their "group" to help ensure its survival. No one thinks of it that way, but that is really what is at work here.
Voice of wisdom
That's group selection (not to be confused with inclusive fitness or kin selection) and far from fully accepted. I'm not saying that the dolphin is being bullied in a way that is similar to humans but there is no evidence indicating bullying is adaptive let alone for the group's benefit.
If it's adaptive at all in humans (and not just a side-effect for aggression in general or personality disorders etc. which may be adaptive in other contexts), it's likely works on the individual level rather then the group one simply because group selection (if it exists) is far less common then individual/kin selection. Perhaps an adaptation to get more resources from a parent than a sibling?
I'm going to cry! 8(
Bullying: the new TERRORISM. Time for a War on Bullying!
are you frickin kidding me? This bullying crap has gone too far! people seriously need to find a place to shove it, and seriously grow and a pair! what the heck is wrong with this world?!
Notice the phrase, "grow a pair," suggesting that the bullied creature or person should "fight" against its oppressor.
Very Darwinesque, if you think about it.
Better tell all other Dolphins to leave him alone, and that they are all bad boys and girls. GROW UP!!!!! Whoever decided this was something to report on should do a story on cheese on the moon. THAT would be more realistic.
Bullying? You have got to be kidding me? Only one solution I can see. We need a new law to make the dolphins think twice. Hate crime for Dolphins. Make them feel better just like the Hate Crime laws are supposed to make blacks feel better. I understand about white guilt but dolphins? Stupid is as stupid does.
This is the most retarded story of the decade.
America has officially lost it's marbles.
I'm a left-leaning dude, but this is uncompromisingly one of the most shameful bits of bias I have ever seen in this world.
This story is worse than an episode of South Park - too bad it's real.
I can't believe this.
Notice that even in this reply we see the "bullying," or natural selective process at work.
"This is the most retarded story of the decade....America has officially lost its marbles...."
Both of these statements use the concept of being mentally slow and being crazy as negative euphemisms for "bad" or "undesirable." This is sort of a watered down version of pointing out the "undesirability" of being slow or mentally insane.
Just saying.
Agreed
Again, I agree with "Voice of Wisdom". There is an effort to demean America every chance they get. What is up with that? American's made the world oil rich and now some Jihadist who was ripped off from their own relatives want to kill "America"? I don't get it.
But I very much doubt if that much politics is affecting Dolphins just yet :)
More Bullsh*t than bullying! You cannot anthropomorphise animals this way. Animals cannot be cruel. They don't know how. Only man has that capacity. The author is a complete nincompoop. What's next? The roses are bullying my petunias? What a piece of garbage!
cactuscat, now that you mention it my roses are taking over the petunias in the garden. You think I should cut the roses back or use "roundup"on the petunias and call it a day?
Pass an anti-bullying law against he roses.
I was bullied for 12 years in school. When I graduated, I immediately enlisted in the Army. A year later I was a PFC and the bully was just entering Basic Training at my post (Ft Sill Oklahoma).
I went to his Drill Sergeant and volunteered my Saturdays to "educate" this bully. He agreed. I got revenge at Ft Sill... but then, 19 years later, we had our 20th High School Reunion. I showed pictures to everyone of what happened to a loud mouthed bully at Ft Sill. He was never the same again! TRUE REVENGE!!!
Bullied: the new most overused word in the typical Americans vocabulary.
No that title is still held by "viral"
Perhaps the poor guy has self-esteem issues and needs counseling. I am sure there is a government program to help at-risk marine mammals that he can take advantage of. If not, there will probably be one soon, thanks to the usual suspects.
His Mom and Dad are making him take a Time Out...
I think we should pass a law outlawing dolphin bullying.
It sure does sound like bullying, or that the other Dolphins are forcefully keeping the lone Dolphin from joining their pod and are trying to keep it out of "their area". This has been reported on before and is a common thing. The important part of this story is that now that the Dolphins are doing this to the lone Dolphin, humans must intervene and help to rescue or relocate the Dolphin to a safer area that is not in shallow waters. I hope rescue organizations are on top of this and help get the Dolphin to deep water, where the Dolphin can feed properly and find a new pod or try again with the old pod. But being in shallow water alone and in need of food is scary for the Dolphin and detrimental to it's health. I hope someone or some group get involved and fix this situation. It's happened before, so I hope it is done in this circumstance.
I would think the environmentalists would be against intervening as it distorts the natural course of nature, perhaps we should contact the ACLU.
The Animal Can't Live Unaided society?
The People who scare me are the ones who want to pet the pretty polar Bear at one time and the next time they are getting Mauled by the Pretty Polar Bear...
Everyone should check out YouTube and See Randy s Video on the Honey Badger. It's pretty funny and gone viral...
where are the "anti bulling people" to defend this dolphin? Otherwise I see dolphin stew in this dolphin's future. Thinking about dolphin fin soup. yummy.
Did anyone else see on Frozen Planet about the Bison being bullied by a pack of wolves? They tore him apart.
On another note I glad we can come to this conclusion and not one like it may be old, ill, too weak to survive in the open waters. I'm so glad we know right off the bat that this poor innocent mammal(gotta make it as close to human since it expresses human emotions) is being bullied by the bigger stronger ones in the pod. It is sad we have become a nation of whiners.
This Dennis Kelly sounds like a bully himself, poor dolphin. :(
America has one rule, you can be as rich as you want to be, as long as it's legal :)Haha.
And advice to other countries, "Dont blame America for your poverty and misfortune." Just the opposite. visit America if you get the chance to be successful some day :)
BTW, we did land on the moon. : ) SO forgt that conspiracy theory :)
...and if it's not legal, if there's enough money to be made and the politicians can benefit, we'll try to legalize it.
This being California, I would hope that he has been contacted by a social worker, and has had an opportunity to speak to some gay dolphins for some group therapy.
By the way, this is also one more potential Democrat voter.
If not already done so, please register him..!
Anyway, even if the dolphins are "bullying" each other, does this give a human the right to intervene? I think not unless we are some superhumans from a comic book :)
Possible sceenplay for a Disney movie :)
Hmmm...a very definiative statement
And you know this, how???
Are you certain, or just guessing again, here?
More conculsive 'facts' of the story.
But if I had a choice with those possible names, boy, I'd have to go with Bolsa Chica Bob. He/She wouldn't have any bullying problems in the future, with THAT name! That boy named Sue, never had any problems in his life.
What a STUPID article. Tabloid trash.
It's staying in close to shore, call it Flopper.
Let nature take its course
Surely we can prosecute one or more of the dolphins on "hate crime" charges?