Dolphin

Description

From Flipper to SeaWorld, dolphins have long captured our hearts. We love these friendly, intelligent mammals, and they seem to return our feelings--they enjoy interacting with swimmers and have been known to encircle people under attack by sharks. Despite our familiarity with dolphins, though, we remain ill-informed about how they evolved, how they function and how they have interacted with humans for millennia. Dolphin dives into the dolphin's zoology, as well as its social and cultural history, to offer a comprehensive view of these delightful creatures. Drawing on his years of experience working with and studying dolphins, Alan Rauch explores their propensity to live in pods and their ability to communicate through a variety of clicks, whistles and other vocalizations. He examines their long relationship with humans, describing how they became the emblem of safe travel and charity, that the ancient Greeks featured them on coins and that Hindu mythology associated them with Ganga, a river deity.
As the rise in popularity of dolphinaria during the 1960s allowed the public access to dolphins, they became central characters in films like The Day of the Dolphin and Johnny Mnemonic and outsmarted humans in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Packed with images and thoughtful insights, Dolphin is a revealing look at one of our favorite sea creatures.

Author description

Alan Rauch is Associate Professor of English at University of North Carolina at Charlotte, USA.

Table of contents

Preface 1 Zoology and Physiology: Evolution and Adaptation 2 Species of Dolphins: A Cosmopolitan Animal 3 The Dolphin in History and Mythology 4 Social Behaviour, Intelligence and Echolocation 5 Dolphin Dangers: Tuna, Predation, Pollution and Exploitation 6 Popular Culture and Dolphins [AQ: 'Dolphins in Popular Culture'?] Timeline of the Dolphin References Select Bibliography Associations and Websites Acknowledgements Photo Acknowledgements Index