Great Cliffs Weyr & Crashing Seas Weyr - Dolphins (aka Shipfish)

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Nov 25, 2009, 6:48am

Great Cliffs Weyr & Crashing Seas Weyr :: Information :: General :: Fauna :: Dolphins (aka Shipfish)

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Topic: Dolphins (aka Shipfish) (Read 4 times)

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Dolphins (aka Shipfish)
« Thread Started on Oct 28, 2008, 12:11am »

General Characteristics:

They are a salt-water creature, requiring the ocean's specific make up to survive. They are a carbon-based form (though its doubtful anyone would know that now), and have blood rather than ichor. They are predators, and their diet consists of fish.

As a whole they are a playful species, and as intelligent (if not more so) than humans are. Fast and nimble in the water, there is no marine life that can match their speed.

They live in groups called 'pods', which generally consist of several females (cows) and their offspring (calves), Groups of juvenile dolphins live on their own, and these include immature males. Adult male dolphins (bulls) rove in small pods or live by themselves, the two genders staying separate for the most part unless it is breeding season.

Adults range in length from 2 to 4 metres (6 to 13 ft) and weight from 150 to 650 kilograms (330 to 1430 lb) with males being on average slightly longer and considerably heavier than females. Those that live in warmer waters are smaller and more slender of build, while those who live in the colder waters around the Northern and Western Continent are larger and bulkier. however, the adult's average length is about 2.5 m (8 ft) with weight ranges from 200 to 300 kg (440 to 660 lb).

The dolphin's search for food is aided by a form of echolocation similar to sonar: they locate objects by producing sounds and listening for the echo. They have very good vision, but a poor sense of smell. They communicate with series of clicks and grunts, warbles and chirps, making their noises not unlike fire-lizard and dragons'. However, they can also speak using very basic word structures. They also use body language (like clacking their jaws or flapping their tails) to communicate.

Current Information:

Now that the Dolphin Bells have been rediscovered, pods of the descendants from the original volunteers are easily summoned. On several islands in the Erdani Chain there are Dolphin Bells, and one hold (name forthcoming) specializes in training Dolphineers.

Throughout Pern these sleek mammals are used as messengers, rescuers, and befriend those who seek them out.

History:

On Terran, humans considered dolphins sentient life forms, and like humans, they were eager to explore new seas. So twenty-five dolphins, all volunteers, slept in the cryogenic chambers. When the settlers landed on P.E.R.N., the dolphins had no objection rounding up specimens of native creatures for the human marine biologists.

When Thread began to fall, the dolphins alerted the mariners to the curious behavior of the ocean’s inhabitants. Fish and sea creatures followed the Leading Edge, swarming to eat Thread as it fell in the water.

The dolphins were exposed to Mentasynth, which enhances empathy. It allows them to have more direct communication and empathy with the humans.
They

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