Twenty Years with the Dolphins Page #5

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and took up positions as though

they were bow-riding my camera,

or engaged in the sex play

which takes up so much

of the dolphins' free time.

Got it.

I got some good IDs.

I recognize a couple of these guys.

From 1989, where we have some

good identifications just two

miles north of here, and

then from last November,

I had some identifications that

were done in this area too.

And when you start to build up

a real collection of the dolphins

here, and then start to match

with the dolphins that are

further up north and the dolphins

that are further down

south, then we can begin to establish

really how broad the range is.

There are times for putting

aside science and technology

and just being with the dolphins.

One afternoon, Julia had

a very special experience.

I just decided to relate to the dolphins

as fellow creatures, rather

than objects of study.

I started making eye contact.

And since there was no one else around,

everything got very quiet.

For humans, the desire to

reach out and touch is innate.

For a while, this dolphin remained

tantalizingly out of reach.

There's no question the dolphins

were responding to my moves.

When I dove, they did too.

Later that same day, I did

touch one of the dolphins

for the first time, and then

found them trying to lure me

away from the boat, out to sea.

After that first moment of contact,

the dolphins began swimming, pulling

Julia along in their wake.

She was skimming over the surface,

not moving her flippers.

It was as though the dolphins wanted

to take her home with them.

Over the years, I've always been

careful touching the dolphins.

But there was one occasion

when I couldn't resist.

A young female, with a crescent

shape out of her dorsal fin,

approached me and looked me in the eye.

Her fin reminded me of Chopper's.

But this was a young

female, not my old friend.

She moved her body in a manner that

was clearly soliciting a rub.

I felt it would be

insulting not to oblige her.

Indeed, she was so close that

I could film her with one hand

and touch her with the other.

She swam with me like

this for about 15 minutes

before drifting off with a

more hydrodynamic companion.

After our first films on the

dolphins of the White Sand

Ridge, divers began to come

from all over the world

to share the experience of meeting

free-swimming, friendly

dolphins in the open sea.

Here, it's possible to relate

to them, not doing circus tricks

in a cement tank, but

because they freely

choose to associate with us.

What is happening in the Bahamas

between spotted dolphins

and humans was once unique.

But today, the friendship

between humans and dolphins,

even humans and creatures

such as killer whales,

is expanding worldwide.

In Tysfjord, Norway, this

young female killer whale

approached our boat, and then swam

with me for more than an hour.

Her calf swam to within

a couple of feet of me

to investigate this strange creature.

It reminded me of the

early days when we'd

first met Didi and Chopper.

In New Zealand, in Ireland,

Australia, and French

Polynesia, people come by the thousands

for the privilege of meeting

dolphins in the wild.

Whales, too, are showing

friendly behavior.

It is impossible to guess

at how far the relationship

between the large-brained

creatures of the land

and those of the sea

could ultimately go.

It all began here,

more than 20 years ago,

in a remote area of the Bahamas, where

we learned to play with these dolphins

with any toys that came to hand.

Whether it's a game of drop-the-T-shirt,

a wind-up toy fish, or

underwater scooters,

their curiosity seems inexhaustible.

Our computer work is only

in the very first phase.

In the future, we'll use the computer

to analyze the

sophisticated vocalizations

the dolphins make in the

context of their actions.

We'll assign signature whistles

to each member of our team,

essentially naming ourselves

in dolphin whistle language.

At the very least, this

says to the dolphins,

we're interested in you.

Ultimately, it may lead to

a breakthrough between our two

species, a first hint of communication

with a non-terrestrial intelligence.

And where is Chopper today,

fully grown, more than 20 years

old, and in the prime of life.

I hope people get to know him

well, for he was all dolphins.

Every dolphin who dies in a fishing net,

or is killed by pollution,

or overfishing

is a dolphin just like

Chopper, Didi, Notchy,

and all the other dolphins

of the White Sand Ridge.

Our 20-year effort in the Bahamas

is but a hint of what might

develop between human beings

and other large-brained creatures

with whom we share our planet.

This relationship is only the beginning.

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