Dolphin 'happiness' measured by scientists

[Still Waters]

Scientists working with dolphins at a marine park near Paris have attempted to measure how the animals feel about aspects of their lives in captivity.

In what researchers say is the first project to examine captivity "from the animals' perspective", the team assessed what activities dolphins looked forward to most.

They found that the marine mammals most keenly anticipated interacting with a familiar human.

The results, they say, show that "better human-animal bonds equals better welfare".

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-44273624

[Trenix]

Of course they look forward to it, they're in a prison all day. It's not like they can go explore and find and do new things. /facepalm

[paperdyer]

I guess if you have a dog or at you let them roam freely?  Mine are house pets and are always happy to see me when I get home from work.

[krone]

Asking a captive dolphin to tell you how happy it feels... isn't that kind of like asking someone in an insane asylym to rank how stable they feel? I mean, the emotional baseline for captive dolphins, which are some of the most intelligent mammals on the planet, is obviously going to be far lower than it is for a peer living in its ideal, open seas environment. This study is loading the dice in favour of marine parks - shamelessly so!

Edited June 13, 2018 by krone