*chatters excitedly* Dolphin Chatline to be set up

[MKSheppard]

Linka

KEY LARGO, Florida (AP) -- A stranded, deaf dolphin delivered her calf Monday at a marine mammal rehabilitation center, and officials hope a dolphin "chat line" they've installed will teach the baby dolphin to vocalize normally.

The Atlantic bottlenose dolphin, named Castaway, has been vocalizing to her unnamed calf, but officials at the Marine Mammal Conservancy say that's not enough for it to learn proper dolphin-speak.

"Castaway's vocalizations are not normal," conservancy president Robert Lingenfelser said. "She speaks in a monotone, similar to the way that people who cannot hear speak."

So officials have electronically linked Castaway's habitat with a lagoon at Dolphins Plus, a research and interactive educational facility a few miles away. Underwater speakers and microphones have been installed at both locations so the calf can communicate with hearing dolphins.

The 42-inch-long, 30-pound calf is swimming well and breathing normally, Lingenfelser said. Officials don't plan to release it, because the first few months of a dolphin's development are a critical time for it to learn self-preservation.

Castaway became stranded in November but was initially deemed healthy enough for release after convalescing at a marine lab in Sarasota. But instead of swimming offshore, she returned to the beach three times before she was taken to the Keys.

Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

[Justforfun000]

That is so fucking cool!

[Rye]

"Castaway's vocalizations are not normal," conservancy president Robert Lingenfelser said. "She speaks in a monotone, similar to the way that people who cannot hear speak."

Wow, that's interesting. I hope this gives us some new information on language.

Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Keep stickin' it to The Man!

[Fire Fly]

Deaf dolphin's calf dies

EY LARGO, Florida (AP) -- The newborn calf of a deaf bottlenose dolphin that was found stranded last fall off a Florida beach died Friday at a marine mammal rehabilitation center.

Veterinarians and volunteers had noticed Thursday that the 5-day-old calf's breathing was labored and it was struggling to swim. They stayed through the night nursing it and administering drugs, said Robert Lingenfelser, president of the Marine Mammal Conservancy.

"Everything that could have been done was done," Lingenfelser said. "There is a profound sense of sadness here."

He said the body of the male calf was being sent to a National Marine Fisheries laboratory for a necropsy.

Its mother, nicknamed Castaway, was found stranded off Vero Beach in November. She was initially deemed healthy enough for release, but instead of swimming offshore, she returned to the beach three times. The dolphin was eventually transported to the center in the Keys, where she was determined to be deaf.

Lingenfelser said that Castaway appeared to be in good condition Friday, but that veterinarians had drawn blood for testing.

Researchers had hoped to use technology to teach the baby to vocalize normally despite Castaway's disability.

Castaway had been vocalizing to the calf, but officials at the Marine Mammal Conservancy said that wouldn't be enough for it to learn proper dolphin-speak.

"Castaway's vocalizations are not normal," Lingenfelser said. "She speaks in a monotone, similar to the way that people who cannot hear speak."

So researchers electronically linked Castaway's habitat with a lagoon at Dolphins Plus, a research and interactive educational facility a few miles away. Underwater speakers and microphones were installed at both locations so the calf could communicate with hearing dolphins.

However, because of the calf's death, the experiment never was put to the test.