In the News with Analysis

[Kenneth Collins]

"Too-familiar tale: Orca wants human playmates", THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/81230_orca03.shtml

"The idea is to approach boats near Luna's territory and let people know the implications of approaching him."

What are the "implications"?

Is the Orca going to eat folks?

Seems to me that the Whale's behavior points-to the magnitude of the plasticity inherent in the Whale's information-processing dynamics. [I presume that the Whale was one of the 'orphans' rescued by Humans(?).]

'course, anybody wanting to make the contrary 'point' can just go out-there with a cattle prod, and provoke aggression.

"See, whales are just dumb beasts."

"Yeah, sure."

k. p. collins [not actually a 'campaigner' on behalf of Whales - just a 'campaigner' on behalf of the Usefulness inherent in the Understanding that nervous systems make-possible, of late, using the Whales as a standing-at-a-bit-of-a-distance-from-all-that's-overly-familiar 'point-of-contact' with folks' 'wondering'. In general, any Intelligence that's 'unrequited' is the Stuff to which my 'heart' rallies. Children, folks who Suffer, and, yes, Whales.]
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://iubio.bio.indiana.edu/bionet/mm/neur-sci/attachments/20020803/07f72ee4/attachment.html