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To Touch a Wild Dolphin

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A biology student with a romantic view of dolphins, Smolker was instantly hooked by hearing of wild dolphins who communed with humans at a remote beach in Western Australia. Already frustrated by the limitations of studying captive dolphins, her first visit to Monkey Mia was the beginning of a 15-year research project that illuminated many aspects of dolphin social life, including insights into communication and the controversial discovery of male sexual aggression.

"To Touch a Wild Dolphin" blends personal and scientific observations in a memoir of discovery. Off to a rocky start with no money and occasional run-ins with the locals, Smolker begins to cultivate a deep appreciation for the harsh beauty of Shark Bay while learning to recognize the regular visitors and the larger numbers of dolphins who disdain the shore.

Observing a fast, intelligent, streamlined animal that conducts its life in the sea presents special difficulties. Even in a boat, it's easy to lose the subject and from the surface it's impossible to see all interactions and body language. Smolker communicates her excitement as, over the years, she and her colleagues sort out social relationships, discover the intricate bonds formed between male pairs or trios and the flowing alliances that arise most often around sexual opportunism.

They cobble together refinements for recording dolphin communication, much of which occurs beyond our hearing range, catalog clicks and whistles, and discover the individual dolphin's "signature." They discover tool-using behaviors passed down from mother to child - sponges worn over the face to protect against scorpion stings, for instance, and explore a theory that dolphin use sound to stun fish. Observing maternal bonds, they realize that dolphins have a very high infant and fetal mortality rate, but the reasons remain obscure.

For each question answered, a hundred more arise.

Smolker's approach is anecdotal and engaging, introducing the reader to many individuals and following their lives over years. There are births and deaths, hilarity and tragedy, triumph and disappointment. But most of all, Smolker arouses a sense of wonder and a strong curiosity to know more.

The title of this review contains phonetic representations of what different dolphin breathing sounds are like during varying activities.

This book will inevitably be compared to Jane Goodall's outstanding work of describing the chimpanzees at the Gombe Preserve in Africa. Clearly, Ms. Smolker was conscious of that pioneering work, and she is at pains to address the same areas. The comparisons extend to actually describing how wild dophin behavior compares to wild chimpanzee behavior. I am unaware of any other book that summarizes long-term field observations of wild dolphin behaviors as this one does. Anyone who wants to learn more about dolphins or the benefits of measuring behaviors directly should read this book.

Ms. Smolker opens the book by posing a series of interesting questions. She notes that dolphins have "extraordinarily large brains," the largest in the animal kingdom as a percentage of body weight after humans. Such large brains have a large energy cost, so they must bring some benefit. "How are they smart?" Then, "how smart are they?" Her experience of 15 years in observing dolphins "taught me not only about them, but about myself and my fellow humans." I agree with that observation, coming away from this book with a greatly enhanced understanding of human, dolphin, and chimpanzee behavior that makes each one more meaningful to me.

At the western end of Australia lies Shark Bay (appropriately named, it seems). For at least 50 years, dolphins have been known to come into one part of its shallow waters (Monkey Mia beach in Red Cliff Bay) to beg for fish (much like a tame dog would beg for a treat). Many of these dolphins can be handled as well as fed.

Learning about this area from Elizabeth Gawain, Ms. Smolker began her treks halfway around the world from the University of California (Santa Cruz) in 1982. When she arrived (after a harrowing journey including much hitchhiking and camping out in the Australian Outback), what she found astonished and pleased her. There were seven easily identifiable dolphin individuals whom she could touch and observe.

Over the years, working on a shoestring and with a lot of grit, the effort expanded to include boats, hydrophones, and assistants. As a result, over 400 dolphin individuals were identified and observed in some detail over time.

In this pioneering research, many lessons emerged. The lifespan of a bottlenosed dolphin can now be estimated at around 50 years. Babies are fed by their mothers for 4-6 years, and females can give birth around once every four years. They appear to use tools (in this case sponges on their noses, which appear to help avoid abrasion and stings from other sea creatures).

Of particular significance is evidence of male cooperation in stable social groups, in mate-herding trios, and in creating commonalities of language. This cooperation is highly unusual in the animal world, being most similar to the boundary patroling that male chimpanzees do. Females also form social groups, but cooperate less.

Fishing is apparently highly developed with the use of both sound and physical agility (tail slaps) to disorient and stun the prey. Groups cooperate to make it easier to catch fish. They can also learn to beg for food from people, as the book describes.

Ms. Smolker's conclusion is that the advanced dolphin brain is used to keep track of and develop social relationships. This social skill is then used to extend the effectiveness of the individual dolphin in surviving.

The book also makes an eloquent plea for being more careful about wild dolphins. During the study period, many dolphins apparently died prematurely. Some were killed by fishing nets and many by human sewage contamination from the beach where they are fed. She concludes that the dolphin's appeal "is ultimately the dolphins' greatest hope for preservation."

Starting a family caused her to leave the field work in recent years. She looks forward to taking her husband and children to Australia to feel "the thrill of touching a wild dolphin."

Throughout the book, you will enjoy getting to know the dolphins by name and by their personalities as many stories are recounted. The book also contains many impressive color photographs that allow you to see the individual dolphins, their behaviors, and the geography that is described in the book.

Ms. Smolker has a simple, unassuming writing style that is engaging. She obviously went through many deprivations to do her work. She scatters in tales of the discomfort to give you a sense of what the work is like. I admire her courage and her perseverance in doing this work. And I also envy her the joy of her experiences and discoveries.

But the main focus is on the dolphins, and the issues that are created by humans interacting with dolphins. Your percpetions of dolphins will never be the same after learning what their lives are like (and it's not quite like Flipper). In the process, you will learn a lot about the basic behaviors that seem to allow dolphins, chimpanzees, and humans to prosper.

After you read this book, you should spend some time thinking about how you can accomplish more by cooperating with others than you can by yourself. How can you facilitate this cooperation? How can you encouarge others to cooperate with each other and with you?

Stand together with other people and other species, so that each can reap greater benefits!

I loved this book. I have always been interested in dolphins and was intrigued to learn how they live. Their connection with humans seems so close, like they are as interested in learning about us as we are about them. This woman's story of her time with the dolphins made me wish I was there too. I read the book a couple of years ago and still think about it. Some of her stories still make me laugh when I think of them. A fascinating story!

This is for people that like dolphins.
An extreme challenge for people that want to study dolphins is that dolphins live under water, swim fast and swim long distances.
She was one of the first people to study dolphins in shark bay in Australia that was special in that it is a rare place where dolphins live near the shoreline and the water is shallow enough to visually follow the dolphins.

This starts out as Smolker as an undergrad in college where she first hears about shark bay. She and another student fly there for the summer to check it out. The book tells her story and the story of the dolphins, and of the dolphin research as she works her way through to her PhD.

Research at shark bay was pivotal to further and on going research on dolphin behavior in the wild. If you are interested in dolphin research you will find this book a fascinating read.

I really loved this book and was sad when it ended - Definitely like saying goodbye to a friend. "To Touch a Wild Dolphin" chronicles the first-ever intimate account of dolphin life in the wild. The author, Rachel Smolker, spent 15 years studying wild dolphins in western Australia, and this gem of a book distills her many experiences into an easy read that straps you into her boat and whisks you alongside the swimming herds of dolphins. This book is so well-written, especially considering that it's rendered from a scientific perspective. It's beauty lies not in numbers and measurements, but in the keen insight Ms. Smolker provides from being up close and personal with one of the sea's most magnificent creatures, and highlights how similar they are to human beings... how their strong & complicated social bonds are formed, how they forage for food, compete for sexual dominance, raise their young and navigate dangerous waters just to stay alive for another day.
One of my favorite quotes from this book: "So what is it that we see when we look into the eye of a dolphin and are struck immediately and powerfully with a sense that theirs is an intelligence of extraordinary measure? We see an eye that appraises, reserves judgment, watches intently, weighs and considers, infers and understands".
This book made me want to quit my day job and camp on the shores of Shark Bay just for the chance to interact with the dolphins there and observe them with my own eyes. But, the reality of the work Ms. Smolker has done must surely have been fraught with many struggles... camping your life away, never having roots, sitting in the hot sun for hours on end with not much to show for it, never knowing where your next source of funding will come from, having to live in close quarters with other researchers who you may or may not enjoy, and essentially living the life of a vagabond. Ms. Smolker has paid a high price for being one of the first researchers to document the extraordinary lives of dolphins. Her reward has been immense, yet I have to believe that, so too has been her sacrifice. In this book, she concentrates on the former, sharing the shining rewards of her quest, and we are all the better for it. Thank you, Ms. Smolker, for such a richly written book.

This story is an amazing book. You will get atached to these characters, while learning about dolphins. A wonderful read for the dolphin lover, or for the nature lover. A must have.

Ever since I was a little girl, I've always been fascinated by dolphins. My career goal is to work with dolphins, in any shape or form, but particularly in the research aspect. I picked up this book while browsing the library one day and fell completly in love with it. It definitely reconfirmed my dream of working with these wonderful creatures, but I also learned a lot about their behaviors and personalities. It also shows that dolphins are not all the same--they actually have unique personality traits. I was so awed by this book that I gave in and decided to buy it--I should receive it in a couple days so I'm looking forward to reading it until it is worn out!! I recommend this book to anyone and everyone who is curious about dolphins. Happy reading!

I'm reading this book with my Mom and it's pretty good. It's very interesting how the author got to study the dolphins.

The title is a bit unfortunate, because humans should not be touching wild dolphins but just observing them from a respectful distance. Those interested in studying dolphins will also be interested in the book by Shaney Frey titled Ocean Echoes: A Dolphin Tale. Ocean Echoes is a fictional account but is based on years of research by the author, and thus is a nice complement to the book "To Touch a Wild Dolphin."

Also check out - Captain Jon Explores the Ocean (also on amazon).