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The dolphin in the mirror : exploring dolphin minds and saving dolphin lives / Diana Reiss.

by Reiss, Diana.

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Boston : Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2011.

Dolphins -- Psychology.

Dolphins -- Conservation.

276 p., [8] p. of plates : ill. ; 24 cm.

Saving Humphrey -- Minds in the water -- First insights -- In search of the dolphin Rosetta stone -- Nonterrestrial thinkers -- The face in the mirror -- Through the looking glass -- Cognitive cousins -- Reflections on dolphin minds -- Into the cove -- Ending the long loneliness -- Consortium of marine scientists and zoo and aquarium professionals call for an end to the inhumane dolphin drives in Japan.

In this book the author, a leading authority on dolphin intelligence shares scientific information about dolphin creativity, emotions, and communication abilities while advocating for stronger dolphin protection laws. The book reveals the extraordinary richness of these animals' intelligence and exposing our terrible mistreatment of the smartest creatures in the sea. For centuries, humans and dolphins have enjoyed a special relationship, evident not just in mythology and folklore but in many documented encounters. Some past cultures even worshipped dolphins and condemned anyone who killed or wounded of them. Yet in recent decades, a paradox: on the one hand, we have discovered extraordinary depths of dolphin intelligence and their emotional lives, to the point of glimpsing their self-consciousness, on the other hand, in Japan, dolphins are slaughtered indiscriminately, and several nations keep them in cruel conditions. The author has helped lead the revolution in dolphin understanding for three decades. In addition, as an activist, she is a leading rescuer who helped inspire and served as an adviser for The Cove, and who continues to campaign against the annual Japanese slaughters. Here, she combines her science and activism to show us just how smart dolphins really are, and why we must stop mistreating them. Readers will be astonished at dolphins' sonar capabilities; at their sophisticated, lifelong playfulness; at their emotional intelligence; and at their ability to bond with other species, including humans and even dogs! Her beloved companion dolphins, each with distinct personalities, create their own toys, type commands on a keyboard, tease and scold her playfully, and express their affection and delight. In her most famous experiments, she used a mirror to prove that dolphins are self-aware, and even self-conscious. This book is both a scientific revelation and a emotional eye-opener, revealing one of the greatest intelligences on Earth.

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