Research history In
Aristotle's time, the fourth century BCE, whales were regarded as fish due to their superficial similarity. Aristotle, however, observed many physiological and anatomical similarities with the terrestrial vertebrates, such as blood (circulation), lungs, uterus and fin anatomy. His detailed descriptions were assimilated by the Romans, but mixed with a more accurate knowledge of the dolphins, as mentioned by
Pliny the Elder in his
Natural history. In the art of this and subsequent periods, dolphins are portrayed with a high-arched head (typical of porpoises) and a long snout. The
harbour porpoise was one of the most accessible species for early
cetologists; because it could be seen close to land, inhabiting shallow coastal areas of Europe. Much of the findings that apply to all cetaceans were first discovered in porpoises. One of the first anatomical descriptions of the airways of a harbor porpoise dates from 1671 by John Ray. It nevertheless referred to the porpoise as a fish. In the
10th edition of Systema Naturae (1758), Swedish biologist and taxonomist
Carl Linnaeus asserted that cetaceans were mammals and not fish. His groundbreaking binomial system formed the basis of modern whale classification.
Culture , 1865 riding a dolphin
Stone Age petroglyphs, such as those in Roddoy and Reppa (Norway), and the
Bangudae Petroglyphs in South Korea, depict them. Whale bones were used for many purposes. In the
Neolithic settlement of Skara Brae on
Orkney sauce pans were made from whale vertebrae. The whale was first mentioned in
ancient Greece by
Homer. There, it is called Ketos, from which was derived the Roman word for whale,
Cetus. In the
Bible especially, the leviathan plays a role as a
sea monster. The prophet
Jonah, on his flight from the city of
Nineveh, is swallowed by a whale. Dolphins are mentioned far more often than whales. Aristotle discusses the sacred animals of the Greeks in his
Historia Animalium. The Greeks admired the dolphin as a "king of the aquatic animals" and referred to them erroneously as fish.
Dolphins appear in Greek mythology. Because of their intelligence, they rescued multiple people from drowning. They were said to love music, probably because of their own song, and in the legends they saved famous musicians, such as
Arion of
Lesbos from
Methymna. Dolphins belong to the domain of
Poseidon and led him to his wife
Amphitrite. Dolphins are associated with other gods, such as
Apollo,
Dionysus and
Aphrodite. The Greeks paid tribute to both whales and dolphins with their own constellation. The constellation of the Whale (Ketos, lat.
Cetus) is located south of the Dolphin (Delphi, lat.
Delphinus) north of the
zodiac. Ancient art often included dolphin representations, including the Cretan
Minoans. A particularly popular representation is that of Arion or
Taras riding on a dolphin. In early
Christian art, the dolphin is a popular motif, at times used as a symbol of
Christ.
Middle Ages to the 19th century St. Brendan described in his travel story
Navigatio Sancti Brendani an encounter with a whale, between the years 565–573. Most descriptions of large whales from the Middle Ages until the whaling era, beginning in the 17th century, were of beached whales.
Raymond Gilmore documented seventeen sperm whales in the estuary of the Elbe from 1723 to 1959 and thirty-one animals on the coast of Great Britain in 1784. In 1827, a blue whale beached itself off the coast of Ostend. Whales were used as attractions in museums and traveling exhibitions. Whalers from the 17th to 19th centuries depicted whales in drawings and recounted tales of their occupation. Although they knew that whales were harmless giants, they described battles with harpooned animals. These included descriptions of sea monsters, including huge whales, sharks, sea snakes, giant squid and octopuses. Among the first whalers who described their experiences on whaling trips was Captain
William Scoresby from Great Britain, who published the book
Northern Whale Fishery, describing the hunt for northern baleen whales. This was followed by
Thomas Beale, a British surgeon, in his book
Some observations on the natural history of the sperm whale in 1835; and Frederick Debell Bennett's
The tale of a whale hunt in 1840. Whales were described in narrative literature and paintings, most famously in the novels
Moby Dick by
Herman Melville and
Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas by
Jules Verne. Baleen was used to make vessel components such as the bottom of a bucket in the Scottish National Museum. The
Norsemen crafted ornamented plates from baleen. In the Canadian Arctic (east coast) in Punuk and
Thule culture (1000–1600 C.E.), baleen was used to construct houses in place of wood as roof support for winter houses.
Modern culture s and
false killer whales In the 20th century, perceptions of cetaceans changed. They transformed from monsters into creatures of wonder, as science revealed them to be intelligent and peaceful animals. Hunting was replaced by whale and dolphin tourism. This change is reflected in films and novels. For example, the protagonist of the series
Flipper was a bottle-nose dolphin. The TV series
SeaQuest DSV (1993–1996), the movies
Free Willy and
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, and the book series ''
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'' by
Douglas Adams are examples. The study of
whale songs also produced a popular album,
Songs of the Humpback Whale.
Captivity Whales and dolphins have been kept in captivity for use in education, research and entertainment since the 19th century.
Belugas Beluga whales were the first whales to be kept in captivity. Other species were too rare, too shy or too big. The first was shown at
Barnum's Museum in
New York City in 1861. For most of the 20th century, Canada was the predominant source. Russia then became the largest provider. As of 2006, 30 belugas lived in Canada and 28 in the United States. 42 deaths in captivity had been reported.
Orcas The orca's
intelligence, trainability, striking appearance, playfulness in captivity and sheer size have made it a popular exhibit at aquaria and aquatic theme parks. From 1976 to 1997, fifty-five whales were taken from the wild in Iceland, nineteen from Japan and three from Argentina. These figures exclude animals that died during capture. Live captures fell dramatically in the 1990s and by 1999, about 40% of the forty-eight animals on display in the world were captive-born. Organizations such as
World Animal Protection and the
Whale and Dolphin Conservation campaign against the practice of keeping them in captivity. In captivity, they often develop pathologies, such as the
dorsal fin collapse seen in 60–90% of captive males. Captives have reduced life expectancy, on average only living into their 20s, although some live longer, including several over 30 years old and two, Corky II and Lolita, in their mid-40s. In the wild, females who survive infancy live 46 years on average and up to 70–80 years. Wild males who survive infancy live 31 years on average and can reach 50–60 years. Captivity usually bears little resemblance to wild habitat and captive whales' social groups are foreign to those found in the wild. Critics claim captive life is stressful due to these factors and the requirement to perform circus tricks that are not part of wild orca behavior. Wild orca may travel up to in a day and critics say the animals are too big and intelligent to be suitable for captivity. Captives occasionally act aggressively towards themselves, their tankmates, or humans, which critics say is a result of
stress. Orcas are well known for their performances in shows, but the number of orcas kept in captivity is small, especially when compared to the number of bottlenose dolphins, with only forty-four
captive orcas being held in aquaria as of 2012. Each country has its own tank requirements; in the US, the minimum enclosure size is set by the
Code of Federal Regulations, 9 CFR E § 3.104, under the
Specifications for the Humane Handling, Care, Treatment and Transportation of Marine Mammals. Aggression among captive orcas is common. They attack each other and their trainers as well. In 2013, SeaWorld's treatment of orcas in captivity was the basis of the movie
Blackfish, which documents the history of
Tilikum, an orca at SeaWorld Orlando, who had been involved in the deaths of three people. The film led to proposals by some lawmakers to ban captivity of cetaceans, and led SeaWorld to announce in 2016 that it would phase out its orca program.
Others pilot whale with trainers Dolphins and porpoises are kept in captivity.
Bottlenose dolphins are the most common, as they are relatively easy to train, have a long lifespan in captivity and have a friendly appearance. Bottlenose dolphins live in captivity across the world, though exact numbers are hard to determine. Other species kept in captivity are
spotted dolphins,
false killer whales and
common dolphins,
Commerson's dolphins, as well as
rough-toothed dolphins, but all in much lower numbers. There are also fewer than ten
pilot whales,
Amazon river dolphins,
Risso's dolphins,
spinner dolphins, or
tucuxi in captivity. Two unusual and rare
hybrid dolphins, known as
wolphins, are kept at
Sea Life Park in
Hawaii, which is a cross between a bottlenose dolphin and a
false killer whale. Also, two
common/bottlenose hybrids reside in captivity at
Discovery Cove and
SeaWorld San Diego. In repeated attempts in the 1960s and 1970s,
narwhals kept in captivity died within months. A breeding pair of
pygmy right whales were retained in a netted area. They were eventually released in South Africa. In 1971, SeaWorld captured a California gray whale calf in Mexico at
Scammon's Lagoon. The calf, later named Gigi, was separated from her mother using a form of lasso attached to her flukes. Gigi was displayed at
SeaWorld San Diego for a year. She was then released with a radio beacon affixed to her back; however, contact was lost after three weeks. Gigi was the first captive baleen whale. JJ, another
gray whale calf, was kept at
SeaWorld San Diego. JJ was an orphaned calf that beached itself in April 1997 and was transported two miles to SeaWorld. The calf was a popular attraction and behaved normally, despite separation from his mother. A year later, the then whale though smaller than average, was too big to keep in captivity, and was released on April 1, 1998. A captive
Amazon river dolphin housed at
Acuario de Valencia is the only trained
river dolphin in captivity. == References ==