Discusses the life of a marine scientist and offers firsthand accounts of dolphin behavior, including addressing conservation and environmental concerns.

A “compelling” up-close memoir of a career spent among marine mammals and a portrait of the daily lives of dolphins (Publishers Weekly). Working among charismatic and clever dolphins in the wild is a unique thrill—and this book invites us shore-bound dreamers to join Maddalena Bearzi as she travels alongside them. In a fascinating account, she takes us inside the world of a marine scientist and offers a firsthand understanding of marine mammal behavior, as well as the frustrations and delights that make up dolphin research. Bearzi recounts her experiences at sea, tracing her own evolution as a woman and a scientist from her earliest travails to her transformation into an advocate for conservation and dolphin protection. These compelling, in-depth descriptions of her fieldwork also present a captivating look into dolphin social behavior and intelligence. Drawing on her extensive experience with the metropolitan bottlenose dolphins of California in particular, she offers insights into the daily lives of these creatures—as well as the difficulties involved in collecting the data that transforms hunches into hypotheses and eventually scientific facts. The book closes by addressing the critical environmental and conservation problems facing these magnificent, socially complex, highly intelligent, and emotional beings. “Pairing vivid images of bottlenose dolphins swimming together and caring for one another with descriptions of the meticulous scientific work required to record their behavior, Maddalena Bearzi sheds light on the life of a field biologist…A beautifully written account.”—Library Journal

From Flipper to SeaWorld, dolphins have long captured our hearts. We love these friendly, intelligent mammals, and they seem to return our feelings—they enjoy interacting with swimmers and have been known to encircle people under attack by sharks. Despite our familiarity with dolphins, though, we remain ill-informed about how they evolved, how they function, and how they have interacted with humans for millennia. Dolphin dives into the dolphin’s zoology, as well as its social and cultural history, to offer a comprehensive view of these delightful creatures. Drawing on his years of experience working with and studying dolphins, Alan Rauch explores their propensity to live in pods and their ability to communicate through a variety of clicks, whistles, and other vocalizations. He examines their long relationship with humans, describing how they became the emblem of safe travel and charity, that the ancient Greeks featured them on coins, and that Hindu mythology associated them with Ganga, a river deity. As the rise in popularity of dolphinaria during the 1960s allowed the public access to dolphins, they became central characters in films like The Day of the Dolphin and Johnny Mnemonic and outsmarted humans in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Packed with images and thoughtful insights, Dolphin is a revealing look at one of our favorite sea creatures.

"Explains how and why whales live without much sleep and details other strange abilities of different types of animals"--Provided by publisher.

LANI MORGAN AND THE MAGIC DOLPHIN™ Lani and her parents move to Hawaii from Mt. Shasta. Unable to relate to the loud surfers her age, Lani longs for a magical experience. She has mysterious dreams where she communicates with dolphins. She explores the Hawaiian Spinners Dolphins habitat and meets the magical dolphin from her dreams who takes her on fantastic adventures beneath the waves. Lani follows the stars underwater to a magical crystal kingdom where she develops clairaudience and clairvoyance. Lani's friend Tim joins her in exploring the melodies of the underwater rainbows and the abundant free energy sources at the depths of the ocean. AUSTRALIAN DREAMTIME SURFCATS AND THEIR DOLPHIN BUDDIESÔThe Australian Dreamtime Surfcats™ is the story of Auzzie the Australian Dreamrider with pet Dolphin Dreaming. They teach Surfcats Cherub, Laka and Magicat the Wavereader about the secrets of riding the dreaming waves down under. They learn a new way of body surfing the song lines of the ocean waves.