THE INTELLIGENCE OF KELLY THE SNEAKY DOLPHIN

Tinkrbl44 · ‎08-23-2010

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Tinkrbl44 · ‎08-23-2010

Here's a little more .........

Mississippi Dolphin Was So Clever, She Appeared to Have Outsmarted Her Trainers.

Kelly the dolphin lived at the Institute for Marine Mammal Studies in Gulfport, Mississippi. Scientists believe that all dolphins are highly intelligent, but Kelly stood out for her repeated ability to fool her trainers into giving her more rewards.

How Kelly Learned to Game the Reward System:

Trainers at the Institute reward dolphins with fish when they collect trash from their pools. Kelly liked this reward system but wanted to maximize her rewards. So she began to hide large pieces of trash under a rock.

Then she'd break off small pieces of the hidden trash over time to collect more fish. Kelly's sneaky plan meant that one piece of trash paid off multiple times.

As clever as Kelly's tactics were, Kelly didn't stop with the trash initiative. Another way for the dolphins to earn fish at the Institute is to alert trainers when birds land in their pool. Once again, Kelly figured out a way to game the system. She began hiding fish to lure additional birds to her pool so she could collect even more fish.

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on the bay · ‎03-09-2010

smarter than humans! 🐬 💙

"If you walk the footsteps of a stranger, you'll learn things you never knew. Can you sing with all the voices of the mountains? can you paint with all the colors of the wind?"

spiderw · ‎06-14-2010

I love this story!!!!! Dolphins are intelligent in many ways, they put many humans to shame in that department.

Tinkrbl44 · ‎08-23-2010

@spiderw wrote:
I love this story!!!!! Dolphins are intelligent in many ways, they put many humans to shame in that department.

@spiderw

This story makes me think it must quite remarkable to work with and care for these amazing creatures!

Looking at that picture, it is so nice to see an animal totally trusting a human.

on the bay · ‎03-09-2010

@Tinkrbl44,

I got to swim with them, care for them for a week in a place in the Bahamas where they could come and go in the ocean and they did come. They like to interact with us humans very much just as we love them.

A dream come true.

"If you walk the footsteps of a stranger, you'll learn things you never knew. Can you sing with all the voices of the mountains? can you paint with all the colors of the wind?"