Killer dolphins

Murderous dolphins. Those two words don't go together in most peoples' opinion. Yet, we now know that dolphins are not necessarily the peaceful animals that their image project.

The Telegraph reports: Killer dolphins baffle marine experts

New evidence has been compiled by marine scientists that prove the normally placid dolphin is capable of brutal attacks both on innocent fellow marine mammals and, more disturbingly, on its own kind.

Film taken of gangs of dolphins repeatedly ramming baby porpoises, tossing them in the air and pursuing them to the death has solved a long-term mystery of what causes the death of so many of these harmless mammals - but has left animal experts baffled as to the motive.

Another mystery is that the animal 'murders' have only been reported in two parts of the world - along Scotland's East Coast and in America off the beaches of Virginia, where even more alarmingly, the victims were scores of the dolphins' own young.

Of course, this is hardly news, so I wonder why the Telegraph present it as such. We also know that male dolphins gang up and rape female dolphins. All in all, dolphins are pretty good at PR.