196 Unit 4 Applied critical thinking
behind it. In this case we already know the
source, as it is acknowledged at the end of the
article. There is no named author, but we are
told that the piece appeared in the magazine
belonging to Whale and Dolphin
Conservation. This tells you something about
the genre to which the text belongs. (‘Genre’,
remember, means a kind or type, or sometimes
a style.) From its name alone it is a safe bet that
the magazine is principally concerned with
conservation issues regarding marine animals.some general view of what it is about. This is
different from the directed reading that you
need to do in order to answer the questions,
but just as important.Context and genre
When you first engage with a new text, one of
the first questions to ask is: What is the
context? There is less chance of
misunderstanding a passage if you know
something of its background and the purposeWDC studies in Australia have
revealed a growing number of
dolphins in the wild are
learning to walk on water.
WDC’s Dr Mike Bossley has
been observing Adelaide’s Port
River dolphins for the past 24
years and has previously
documented spectacular
tail-walking in two adult female
dolphins, Billie and Wave.
Now it seems that tail-
walking is spreading through
the Port River dolphin
community. Up to six dolphins,
including young infants, have
been seen mastering thetechnique – furiously paddling
their tail fluke, forcing their
body out and across the water.
According to Dr Bossley, the
dolphins seem to walk on
water for fun, as it has no
other obvious benefit. The
behaviour seems to be
cultural, although unusually it
is not linked to any practical
use such as foraging for food.
Tail-walking is rare in the wild
and more commonly seen
among captive dolphins
trained to perform tricks.
Billie is thought to have
learnt the trick during a brief
period when she was held
captive in a dolphinarium,
before being released back
into the wild. It appears that
she has passed this trick onto
others in the pod who now
practise many times each day.WDC dolphin photographers
Marianna Boorman and Barbara
Saberton and have recently
documented Wave’s calf, Tallula,
also attempting to tail-walk. ‘As
far as we are aware, tail-walking
has no practical function and is
performed as some form of
recreation, like human dancing
or gymnastics,’ says Dr Bossley.
Adelaide’s dolphins are not
performing operas, or
composing symphonies as far
as we know. But tail-walking in
dolphins adds more evidence to
the contention that dolphins are
very intelligent and so similar to
humans that they are worthy of
a special ethical status: that of
‘non-human persons’.
Whale and Dolphin: magazine
of Whale and Dolphin
Conservation (WDC)WALK THIS WAY!
Studies show the art of tail-walking is spreading
amongst Adelaide’s Port River dolphins.