Dolphins

Book Description

Foreword by Jean-Michel Cousteau.

Few people will ever have the chance to encounter Atlantic spotted dolphins or duskies in the wild. But Dolphins author Tim Cahill offers the next best thing to a firsthand experience, bringing to life a thrilling world where creatures are as delicate as a jellyfish and as powerful as a killer whale.

Cahill captures the exhilaration, risks, and rewards of studying these intelligent and friendly mammals in their habitat. As he explores the lives and careers of three scientists, a dolphin communication specialist, a dolphin behavior expert, and their mentor, he explains how each type of dolphin exhibits distinctive traits, social routines, and feeding habits—much like their human counterparts. Cahill’s narrative, accompanied by compelling and informative essays written by scientific experts, expands to include current debates regarding dolphin conservation and the fishing industry, studying dolphins in the wild versus in captivity, and the anthropomorphism of dolphins.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Few of us will ever have the chance to swim with wild Atlantic spotted dolphins or their cousins the duskies in their ocean habitats, but here's the next best thing: an up-close-and-personal encounter with these smart, playful marine mammals and the people who study them. With more than a hundred extraordinary photographs captured during the making of the IMAX documentary film Dolphins, this magnificently illustrated book immerses the reader in the mysterious company of animals whose intelligence may rival that of humans.

Best-selling author Tim Cahill uses his trademark humor to highlight the lives and careers of three scientists on the leading edge of dolphin research: Kathleen Dudzinski, a young expert in dolphin communication, Alejandro Acevedo-Gutierrez, whose special field is dolphin foraging behavior, and their mentor, Bernd Wursig, whose pioneering work with dusky dolphins has earned him international reknown. As they lead us on a fascinating underwater adventure, they share vivid stories from the field and explore the inevitable risks and unforgettable rewards of studying marine mammals in the wild.