Are Pink Dolphins Really Smart?

Are Pink Dolphins Really Smart?
Pink Dolphin Intelligence

Most scientists to-date have refused to take a firm stand on the intelligence level of the dolphin, and although many will admit that pink dolphins seem to be intelligent creatures, it is not a proven fact. Darwin's theory bases intelligence on the ability of a species to recognize what it needs to survive, while other schools of thought believe the the size and architecture of the brain, the ability to communicate, or the ability to exhibit playfulness are the indicators.

Another reason that the research on pink dolphin intelligence is limited is because it's difficult and expensive to do in the wild. Dolphins in captivity, may respond differently based on their surroundings and are therefore may not be representative of the wild dolphin. While the U.S. Navy has carried out extensive research on the dolphin and have even trained them to search and even tag mines, that information has not been released to the public.

While most of us outside the scientific realm know that dolphins do communicate with each other and they're one of the most playful animals in the universe, we've never been exposed to the intricacies of the dolphin's brain. Consequently, you may surprised to know that the dolphin brain is actually much larger than the human brain. Dolphins have two hemispheres just like humans however, theirs are split into four lobes instead of three. The fourth lobe in the dolphin's brain actually hosts all of the senses, whereas in a human, the senses are split. When studying the neo-cortex, which is the outside surface of the brain that is responsible for forming perceptions, memories and thoughts, dolphins have more convolution than the most intelligent humans. It is thought that dolphins may also be able to use the hemispheres of their brain separately as they have separate blood supplies which is something that is exclusive only to the dolphin. To add more weight to this supposition, pink dolphins are also able to move their eyes independently which has lead some researchers to suggest that the dolphin may actually be able to sleep with one side of it's brain at a time.

Some researchers have suggested that the size and complexity of the brain at birth is a better measure of intelligence. If that research holds up, however, once more the dolphin comes out on top. The bottle-nose dolphin has a brain mass at birth that is 42.5% of that of an adult humans brain mass. Humans at birth have 25% of their adult counterparts. At 18 months, the brain mass of the bottle-nose dolphin is 80% of the adult human, who doesn't usually achieve this level until the age of three or four.

Pink-dolphins-friendliest-mammals-known

Pink Dolphins – the Friendliest Mammals Known

Pink Dolphins – the Friendliest Mammals Known
Pink dolphins are much different from the dolphins you usually see when you are into the sea or ocean. You can also tell that they are adapted to their environment and they are very distantly in relation to the ones you see in the ocean.

There are five species of the river dolphins known till date and among them, the Amazon pink dolphins are referred to as the most intelligent among all. It has also been stated that the brain capacity of these species are 50% greater when compared with that of the humans.

Apart from the Amazon River, the pink dolphins can be a common sight along the upper Madeira River and also the Orinoco basins. As the name suggests, pink dolphins are mostly seen in pink colour even though other colour variations are also very well known including brown, light gray or even light pink.

It is simply amazing and yet shocking the among the five river dolphins known, except this variety the other four species are nearing extinction or can be said as they are extinct. On the other hand, these dolphins, pink in colour are known to constitute the greatest population among their own class.

Yet another surprising fact is that pink river dolphins are the most endangered species among the cetaceans known in the world. IUCN or the International Union for the Conservation of Nature listed them among the “vulnerable species-threatened” category. It was only recently they altered their section to another category, “endangered species-threatened”. This is an awful situation as we you can never find such friendly creatures anywhere else and they are facing extinction and we are just helpless other than to just sit and watch!

The reason for pink dolphins extinction is still on and the finding states that the destruction of Amazon basin has resulted in the demolition of its habitat thus leading to their extinction. Use of mercury in the gold mining process has also resulted in the death of a huge number of dolphins as the level of contaminants in mercury is too high for these social creatures to tolerate.

Yet another reason pointed out was the immense traffic in the Amazon basin. With such crowd, noise and disturbance of the nature’s balance makes them move here and there. Thus they get hit by sharp propellers or vessels leading to their death. Some other reasons include sound pollution; destruction of pink dolphins habitat and even the destruction of their progeny are some of the greatest faults from our side!
pink-dolphins-are-from-delphinidae