Tallest Man Saves Dolphin (1 Viewer)

[Guest]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061214/ap_on_fe_st/china_dolphins_tallest_man

From the Associated Press on Yahoo

• BEIJING - The long arms of the world's tallest man reached in and saved two dolphins by pulling out plastic from their stomachs, state media and an aquarium official said Thursday.
  
  The dolphins got sick after nibbling on plastic from the edge of their pool at an aquarium in Liaoning province. Attempts to use surgical instruments to remove the plastic failed because the dolphins' stomachs contracted in response to the instruments, the China Daily newspaper reported.
  
  Veterinarians then decided to ask for help from Bao Xishun, a 7-foot-9 herdsman from Inner Mongolia with 41.7-inch arms, state media said.
  
  Bao, 54, was confirmed last year by the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's tallest living man.
  
  Chen Lujun, the manager of the Royal Jidi Ocean World aquarium, told The Associated Press that the shape of the dolphins' stomachs made it difficult to push an instrument very far in without hurting the animals. People with shorter arms could not reach the plastic, he said.
  
  "When we failed to get the objects out we sought the help of Bao Xishun from Inner Mongolia and he did it successfully yesterday," Chen said. "The two dolphins are in very good condition now."
  
  Photographs showed the jaws of one of the dolphins being held back by towels so Bao could reach inside the animal without being bitten.
  
  "Some very small plastic pieces are still left in the dolphins' stomachs," Zhu Xiaoling, a local doctor, told Xinhua. "However the dolphins will be able to digest these and are expected to recover soon."

 

[aggie4231]

you would think that the dolphins would be smart enough to figure out the plastics was fish.

actually, i was told be some professors down here that dolphins really aren't that smart. some neurobiologists did a study on dolphins. they found that yes dolphins have large brains, but for their size, the number neurological connections between axons is low. the ratio between connections and size, if i remeber right, is less than humans. most of the brain in dolphins is for thermocontrol and for their "sonar". the only other things dolphins need their brain for is reproduction, eating, and defense.

dolphins can also be very aggresive. their was a discovery channel program awhile back that come on every now and then that demostrates this.

 

[Guest]

you would think that the dolphins would be smart enough to figure out the plastics was fish.

This dolphin must have gotten bored or just wanted to "taste" the plastic. I was lucky enough to work with some dolphins in Gulf Port, Miss. a few years back. We were doing simple behavior learning tasks, teaching match to sample, color discrimination and simple behavior chains and the like. It was fun to see just how quickly they did learn and to see their different personalities. Yep, they can be quite assertive and very sexual beings. Great animals, glad this persons long arms saved this one.
Cheryl