They have been hailed as the second most intelligent animal on the planet, but could a soft spot for dolphins have led us to terribly misjudge them?
EVERY day, regular as clockwork, the bottlenose dolphins of Shark Bay swim to the shallows to be hand fed and beamed at by a gaggle of tourists. Meeting them was to be the highlight of my trip around Australia. I was expecting to commune with nature. Instead, I got a rude awakening. As dolphin after dolphin swam past my legs, excitement overcame me and – against the orders of the ranger on duty – I chanced a stroke. In response, I got a flick of the tail so hard it gave me a dead arm. I looked at the dolphin. Black eyes glared back at me. "She's telling you 'no'," said the ranger ...
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