Community Primary & Nursery School

A lot of people like dolphins, sensing in their freedom and actions a quirky, sometimes mischievous intelligence that they find quite fascinating. The ancient Greeks painted pictures of humans riding on their backs, sculptors copied the theme and that image has remained in the hearts and minds of many people; a union of human and dolphin coexisting as equal partners. If only that were true!

Bottlenose dolphins leaping off Goodrington Beach.

(Photographs courtesy of Nigel Smallbones, Goodrington Seashore Centre.)

Most people like dolphins, especially when they are privileged to witness their leaping and cavorting at first hand, but they often know surprisingly little about the creatures themselves. This is why pupils at Torre Church of England Primary School have developed, in their computer club, the 'Directory of Devon Dolphins'. Simply click on the link below to find out more about the species that occasionally, or regularly, enter our waters.

I like dolphins, don't get me wrong. I once had one leap out of the water to touch the end of my fishing rod. Another day the matriarch of a pod and her calf swam over to join me at the front of my RIB (rigid inflatable boat), the intelligence in their eyes so obvious that it made me wonder how any human could ever feel comfortable killing one. They are magnificent creatures. But, and here's the rub, they are, first and foremost, wild animals and there is a danger that humans, in their fanciful romanticising, do tend to forget that. Some lesser known facts are not so romantic. Did you know that water exhaled from their blowholes carries so much bacteria that any human inhaling it is in serious danger? Their skin looks lovely, so clean and smart in appearance, but it too carries virulent germs. A vet in Ireland can tell you that. He had a tiny nick in one finger, treated a dolphin and ended up having to have his fingers amputated! The fact is that dolphins need to be treated with respect and, not only that, any person in the water with one needs to put their brain into gear and watch their body language for their reactions to what they are doing. I saw this on a video the other day, one which showed a lonely dolphin, separated from his pod, seeking the company of humans on the beach. His dorsal fin was cut, notched from an encounter with a boat's propellor, and it was sore. One woman grabbed it, so he quickly rolled away. He turned back and she grabbed it again. As before he turned quickly away. When he turned back, the woman, having completely ignored his body language, tried to grab it once again. Fortunately for her the dolphin moved away but it could have bitten or butted her. A 400 pound animal, it was entirely capable of killing her or causing her serious injury. As it was she escaped unhurt but my own feeling was that she was completely unaware of the danger that she was in. Others were not so lucky, receiving painful bites when the dolphin's feelings and signals were ignored. They are magnificent animals but do, please, treat them with respect. Learn about them, watch them with, to coin a cliche, awe and wonder but ignore their feelings at your peril. They may be symbols of intelligence, freedom or even love but the dolphins themselves remain utterly unaware of that fact. They are wild, in every sense of the word, and that is what people should remember, not the fanciful posturing of romantic writers. Please bear it in mind.

Click here!