What happens when a species is categorized under “least concern”, meaning there is no threat of being threatened? The answer is simple and you’ll likely get the idea by the time you finish reading.

The Faeroes are a group of islands in Northern Europe, between the Norwegian Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, an autonomous province of Denmark since 1948. Every year, young boys trying to prove themselves as adults gather on the beaches for the Annual Dolphin Massacre. Apparently, the only way to let the world know about their “hairy chests” is by turning into merciless killers, luring the Risso’s Dolphin to the shores and …. you can see what happens.

A playful animal that only feels curiosity towards human kind, the Risso’s Dolphin is the slaughtered victim from a bad movie that is being played each year in the Faeroes Islands. Why would you kill an animal that wants to play? Why? Can they sleep after seeing the sea of blood and so many slaughtered souls? Do they build up statistics and ranks to see who’s the best killer? Do they race for the first position? Are parents happy with their “kids”?

Who’s to blame? I know that GreenPacks readers are smart and they can come up with their own answers. For me, it’s pretty obvious that the human kind is not as advanced as many think, if these kind of actions happen these days.

Denmark! Shame on you! Faeroes! Shame on you!

Though I’m not a fan of petitions, here’s one that I’m supporting.

If you think you can take it (be warned - high cruelty), there’s an image gallery after the break. (more…)

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There’s a secluded lagoon hidden alongside an island about 700kms south of Tokyo where - Iol says - Japanese fishermen, with the blessings of Tokyo, are slaughtering dolphins. Between October and April of last year, some 16,000-20,000 of the mammals were killed under whaling laws.

The fishermen hammer metal rods into the sea to disable the dolphins’ sense of direction, thus herding them into the lagoon where they stab them to death with knives, hooks and lances. Babies are separated from their parents and pregnant dolphins miscarry, while those the rest are being sold in Japan. Some to animal trainers, while the remainder are killed in a secluded bay.

Parts of the dolphins are processed into pet food and fertilizer.

GP can’t verify the validity of the report, but I am game for heading to Japan, to this island off the coast to see what’s going on and if it’s harm to our good animal friends, try to stop it. Is there anybody who can verify this report?

Really, why can’t we all just get along? I’m for kissing and making up, aren’t you? A dolphin and a sea lion, not your best of friends, have learned to kiss their hostility away at an aquarium in Beijing. China has a National Holiday coming up. To prepare the aquarium folk taught the two how to kiss in order to entertain anticipated crowds. Whatever!

At first, the sea lion fled from the dolphin and the dolphin fidgeted at the sight of the sea lion. I get both of those responses when I meet people of the opposite sex. So, I am wondering what the big deal is.

Here at GP we are just happy to see animals getting along and showing us humans that we can do it, too, if we just think about kissing and making up.

We also wonder what happens if these two get really close together? Seaphins? Dollions?

Not sure if Michael Phelps is vegan, loves animals or if he recycles, but I’ll have to be honest he really managed to amaze all of us after breaking seven world records and one Olympic record in just one week. He did it, in part, because of his amazing dolphin kick.

I’m no guru in making the world a better place but there’s obviously something we can learn from Michael ‘Dolphin’ Phelps and his hard work.

1. More sports for kids. What if they bring swimming activities to children, too? Call it an anti-obesity program or a way of spending quality time as a kid, I’m sure it would be a great idea.

2. Hard work and determination. Even though the guy was “built” like a fish with a long torso and relatively short legs, thereby decreasing resistance, he also had to train. And he trained hard not for the last weeks, months, but years. Five or six hours a day, almost everyday Michael Phelps was in a swimming pool trying to improve his times.

3. Focus and never give up. I was amazed to hear that he had his goggles filled with water in one race. Not a pro-swimmer here, but I do know you’re somehow blind when something like this happens. What he did? Focused even more. It was another obstacle he had to go over. He counted the number of strokes per length to know where he was and reached his goal.

4. Can he power our cars? GreenDaily has a couple of great ideas for Phelps to “serve his country”. I’d sure put him the head of all clean energy companies. With his determination we’d most likely get a world record on sustainable energy.

Again, I’m not sure of the reasons why this should go well on GreenPacks but such a guy should inspire many.

Image courtesy of M@rcopako

It’s not the extinct white dolphin or something you might see at one of those incredible hotspots for whale watching, it’s the world’s largest shark, the whale shark. Researchers down under, that’s down under (Australia) and down under (underwater) attached devices for observation to eight sharks 8 meters (26′) long off Ningaloo. The devices which are designed to release from the sharks on command, track every move the giant fish makes over several hours.

The whale shark dives like a hawk, then soars like an eagle, using momentum and gravity to conserve energy. Momentum and gravity for conservation of energy? Is there something we landlubbers can learn here because to be honest the whale shark is as big as a bus!

Image by Rob Hughes

Image by Fiona Ayerst

The study was done under pretenses of protecting the whale sharks against whom or who? People who might stick devices to them maybe?

The devices are supposed to reveal where the sharks feed and breed so that we humans can know where and when to leave them alone. How about we just leave them alone. But, then if we aren’t careful, hunters will find them. And if the hunters don’t get them, pollution might.

So, do we study animals or should we leave them alone? What do you think?