Dispatch From A Dolphin

Dispatch from a Dolphin:  The Friendly Factor

I’m told that understanding the nature of friendliness is important to humans. Apparently there are two creatures on the planet that are considered friendlier than me: Capybara and Dog.

Humans absolutely delight me - their many contradictions are absolutely fascinating. Capybara. A rodent that can grow to nearly 200 pounds and eat oh, around 8 pounds of food. A day! Rodents such as mice and rats don’t eat nearly that amount and are much smaller and more manageable to have around and yet humans don’t seem nearly as fond of rats as they are of Capybara.

Dog. Although I’ve heard tell of a Chihuahua or two that didn’t seem especially friendly, I agree that Dog, generally, is really one of the friendliest creatures that comes to mind.

Apparently Dolphin comes in third. I am more playful than I am competitive, so I am perfectly content with third place. I wouldn’t want to be land bound anyway so I’ve never wished much to be able to walk. If you want to come see just how friendly I am you’ll have to come to me in the water. Although occasionally kept in captivity I prefer the wild places with my happy pod. There are dozens of Dolphin cousin around the world. I dwell in shallow water in tropical/temperate climate. Cousin Orca prefers cooler waters. There are some cousins who prefer rivers to the sea. Just because we’re family doesn’t mean we’re all alike or that we prefer the same thing. We do, however, have friendliness in common.

We actually have some things in common with humans, we even have a belly button! Like humans, we are curious. We enjoy having connections with friendly humans. We often follow boats but it’s not because we’re looking for a party. We’ve learned over the centuries that when humans travel on a boat they toss lots of tasty bits overboard.

In addition to being very social we are also extremely smart. I want to emphasize we are also kind. Some humans say that swimming with a pod of dolphins is a positive, life-changing event. Ultimately that is my dispatch for you…

When another human comes around to swim or play with you, do your best to be like Dolphin and have a positive impact on them, maybe even a life-changing one!

Love,

Dolphin