Quotes About Cetaceans

Elephants have a theory of mind—they can think into the head of another elephant and infer their knowledge of the world, including errors and omissions of knowledge. That puts them above all but a handful of species—a few primates, some very smart birds and cetaceans.

Whales and dolphins have extraordinary hearing and the ability to communicate in widely varying voices.

Australian pro surfer Dave Rastovich, straddling his board waiting for a wave, was astonished to watch a dolphin hurtle itself at a shark that was torpedoing toward him, sending it fleeing. (Coincidentally, only two days earlier Rastovich had launched a nonprofit group, Surfers for Cetaceans, to protect dolphins and whales.)

The terrestrial heritage of the marine mammals is evident in their air breathing and its consequences for metabolic rates, size, and sound production. There is one other characteristic of the marine mammals and especially the cetaceans that is remarkable among marine creatures, but is less obviously tied to air breathing: their brains.