The Dolphin in the Mirror: Exploring Dolphin Minds and Saving Dolphin Lives - Tapa dura

A memoir by the world’s leading dolphin and whale expert, revealing the extraordinary richness of these animals’ intelligence and exposing our terrible mistreatment of the smartest creatures in the sea.

For centuries, humans and dolphins have enjoyed a special relationship, evident not just in mythology and folklore but in many documented encounters. Some past cultures even worshipped dolphins and condemned anyone who killed or wounded of them. Yet in recent decades, a paradox: on the one hand, we have discovered extraordinary depths of dolphin intelligence and their emotional lives, to the point of glimpsing their self-consciousness—on the other hand, in Japan, dolphins are slaughtered indiscriminately, and several nations keep them in cruel conditions.

Diana Reiss is one of the world’s leading experts on dolphin intelligence who has helped lead the revolution in dolphin understanding for three decades. In addition, as an activist, she is a leading rescuer who helped inspire and served as an adviser forThe Cove, and who continues to campaign against the annual Japanese slaughters. Here, she combines her science and activism to show us just how smart dolphins really are, and why we must stop mistreating them. Readers will be astonished at dolphins’ sonar capabilities; at their sophisticated, lifelong playfulness; at their emotional intelligence; and at their ability to bond with other species, including humans and even dogs! Her beloved companion dolphins, each with distinct personalities, create their own toys, type commands on a keyboard, tease and scold her playfully, and express their affection and delight. In Reiss’s most famous experiments, she used a mirror to prove that dolphins are self-aware, and even self-conscious.The Dolphin in the Mirror is both a scientific revelation and a emotional eye-opener, revealing one of the greatest intelligences on Earth.

Praise for THE DOLPHIN IN THE MIRROR:

“Diana Reiss has managed no small feat—synthesizing personal experience, descriptive material, and scientific fact to provide insights about dolphin behavior for the general public and scientific community alike. Throughout the book, by explaining her ‘enchantment by dolphins,’ Reiss likewise enchants her audience, ending with an extraordinarily powerful plea for dolphin conservation. No one reading this book could possibly remain untouched by the beauty and intelligence of these powerful mammals of the sea.”—Irene Pepperberg, author of Alex & Me

“The Dolphin in the Mirror should be read by everyone who loves animals. Diana Reiss’ observations and research will illuminate the world of the dolphin’s amazing intelligence and playfulness.”—Temple Grandin, author of Animals in Translation and Animals Make us Human

“A wonderful and passionate tour though the career of a scientist who has made groundbreaking discoveries about the minds of dolphins and helped lead the effort to stop the horrific slaughter of dolphins in ‘the Cove’ in Japan. A must-read for everyone interested in these amazing intelligent animals.”—Richard C. Connor, author of The Lives of Whales and Dolphins: From the American Museum of Natural History