Form Grade 6 Exercises – Fill Out and Use This PDF

EXERCISE: 3. Read the newspaper article below about dolphins and their relationship with man. Then

complete the note taking exercise.

OUR TRUE FRIEND THE DOPLHIN

‘Like us, the dolphins are great communicators’, says Jo Clark, Conservation Officer for the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society. ‘They are very social, and communicate through a range of clicks, whistles and calls. Researchers say that each dolphin has its own unique whistle, which may identify it to others.’

Dolphins live in groups and work together to feed and to drive away predators. Orcas, a kind of dolphins known more commonly as killer whales, have strong family bonds and remain together in family groups called pods, which have their own individual language dialect. They are known to pass down knowledge from one generation to the next. Scientists are now suggesting that the only equivalent to the complex and stable relationship in orca groups is found in human societies.

Jo says, ‘There are many examples of dolphins forming partnerships with people. For three generations, in Laguna, Brazil, groups of bottle nosed dolphins have been working with fishermen to catch mullet. The dolphins drive the fish towards the fishermen’s nets, even signaling with a splash of their tails when the nets should be thrown’

A particularly dramatic account of dolphins protecting humans from danger was reported by a group of fishermen from South Carolina in the United States in 2001. Their boat sank 50 kilometers from the shore and they found themselves surrounded by mako, hammerhead and tiger sharks. A group of dolphins arrived and set about driving the sharks away. They remained all night and the following day, protecting the fishermen from any sharks that came near.

Witnesses have also seen dolphins saving people from drowning when there was no apparent benefit to them. We’ll never know for certain why dolphins act like this at times. What we do know is that they have to protect their families from attacks by sharks, so it is possible they are acting instinctively when they help people or that they extend their concept of family to include an obviously vulnerable human.

PEOPLE AND DOLPHINS

Similarities between people and dolphins

•Family structure/ live as part of a group

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Practical ways dolphins have helped people

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