Dolphins and Whales: Minds Beneath the Waves - Dr Lori Marino at Colorado College.

For the Roberts Memorial Lecture at Colorado College, Lori Marino, Ph.D., shows how a hoofed land animal, known as Pakicetus, went back to the ocean 50 million years ago and gradually evolved into modern cetaceans (whales and dolphins), whose closest cousin today is the hippopotamus.
Dr. Marino goes on to talk about her extensive research on cetacean brain evolution and modern cetacean brain size and organization, as well as the cognitive and emotional complexities of these remarkable animals.
She describes how, during her years of study, she learned about the physical, emotional, and social stresses dolphins and whales endure living in entertainment parks.
And after her groundbreaking 2001 paper demonstrating mirror self-recognition in captive bottlenose dolphins she decided against further research with captive cetaceans.
In 2016, she founded the Whale Sanctuary Project, which is working to retire whales and dolphins from marine parks and aquariums to sanctuaries, where they can lead their lives in a more natural environment that promotes well-being and autonomy.
For more information, visit the Whale Sanctuary Project at whalesanctuary....
Your support of this work is greatly appreciated. Please donate at whalesanctuary....