Skip to content
All articles
  • All articles
  • About whales & dolphins
  • Create healthy seas
  • End captivity
  • Fundraising
  • Green Whale
  • Kids blogs
  • Prevent deaths in nets
  • Scottish Dolphin Centre
  • Stop whaling
Dolphin in Brazil helping with fishing illustration

Dolphins and fishermen working together

Kidzone - quick links Fun Facts Curious kids Blogs Fantastic fundraisers Gallery Splish and Splash...
Gray whale (eschrichtius robustus) Gray whale in Ojo de liebre lagoon Baja California.

Why we’re walking for whales to save the world

We've got enormous ambitions when it comes to fighting climate breakdown, and so two members...
Dolphins with keepers in the new Windsor Safari Park. Image: PA Images/Alamy Stock Photo

Three decades on from UK’s last dolphin show, what needs to change?

The UK hasn't had captive whales and dolphins on display for 30 years, but it's...
Fishers' involvement is crucial. Image: WDC/JTF

When porpoises and people overlap

We're funding a project in Hong Kong that's working with fishing communities to help save...
Whale evolution cover

How did whales end up living in the ocean?

Kidzone - quick links Fun Facts Curious kids Blogs Fantastic fundraisers Gallery Splish and Splash...
Fishers chatting

Scottish fishers working with us to reduce risks to whales

Small changes to fishing gear could make a big difference to whales around Scotland, and...

Mindful conservation – why we need a new respect for nature

'We should look at whales and dolphins as the indigenous people of the seas -...
tins of whale meat

How Japan’s whaling industry is trying to convince people to eat whales

Japan's hunters kill hundreds of whales every year despite the fact that hardly anyone in...

Body Language in Bottlenose Dolphins

When you are involved in watching and studying bottlenose dolphin behaviour for any length of time, you begin to notice certain body positions that occur every so often and one that fascinates me is an activity known as “S” posturing. What happens is, as you can see in my recent photo below of ID#1018 “Bodhi” (one of the cheeky sub-adult males) the dolphin breaches from the water and holds its body in a rigid “S” shape with the head raised and the pectoral fins held out stiffly from the body.  photo Bodhi S Posturing.jpg As the dolphin falls towards the water ready for re-entry, the dolphins head and chin is forcefully slapped on the water and this complete activity can be repeated many times. Theories for this type of dolphin “body language” favour a state of annoyance or irritation, directed at either another dolphin or possibly an unfamiliar inanimate object in the dolphins’ large territory, such as a boat. I love watching behaviour like this as I think that it just adds to the fascination that we have with these sensitive and highly intelligent marine mammals who have a very complicated social life and structure. This is yet another reason why no cetacean should ever be confined to a cramped and filthy tank.

Find out more facts about dolphins.

About Charlie Phillips

Field officer - Adopt a Dolphin