Leap of Joy !
As a child my father took us to watch a very beautiful
movie called' The Day of the Dolphins’. It was my first look at these beautiful
creatures of the sea. Since then I have always been mesmerized by the
effortless grace in their movements.
Dolphins truly move gracefully and yet are
active and fast in water. Indeed they are capable of astounding feats of great speed
and agility. The reason for their ability to propel themselves well is not only
because of a streamlined body but also due to their ability to use the positive
pressure field generated by a moving body to their benefit. Their tails are
strong, muscular and powerful. This explains their ability to swim on their
sides turn quickly and also change directions fast.
That dolphins take big leaps off the water is well
known. Many reasons can be
attributed to this behavior. One of the reasons is that dolphins leap out of
water while travelling to conserve energy as moving through air consumes less
energy than moving in water. Others reason out that the leaping may be a signal
of communication with others of its own species. Or, perhaps the act could
possibly even give them a better view of food options available.
Believed to be the most intelligent of all
animals, dolphins are comparably as intelligent as a two year old human being. Along
with their intelligence comes a finely developed sense of touch as their nerve endings
are close to their skin. This also could be the reason as to why they are able
to bond closely with the human species.
It seems so that dolphins spend the better
part of their day indulging in social interactions.
In fact the actions distinctly exhibited by
them make for interesting observation. Talk of the manner in which they pop
their heads out of the water, touching and rubbing pectoral fins, breaching,
bows and more. Synchronous movements such as these seem to work so much like
signals of communication in bonding between a pair... quite like a beautiful waltz !
Indeed ! What a wonderful World !
Savvy Raj
image courtesy http://image-store.slidesharecdn.com/9b8ca2c6-8266-11e3-b622-12313b06a873-large.jpg
http://image-store.slidesharecdn.com/cc8bbb1a-8cb5-11e3-8490-12313d2951b1-large.jpg
