THE COVE PROJECT BY: MR. MARTELL’S ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE CLASS

INTRO The Cove is a movie about dolphins in Taiji, Japan Taiji is located on the south east coast of Japan Dolphins are captured and sold to aquariums/parks The remaining 20,000 dolphins are taken from the wild each year

DOLPHIN FACTS Individual whistles Half of their brain Excellent eyesight and hearing Communication

DOLPHIN BEHAVIOR Travel alone or in groups “Baby Position” Stay with mothers FEEDING Herd fish into a group and attack from the bottom Fish tossing Diving and chasing after fish “Baby position”

DOLPHIN BEHAVIOR CONT. SOCIALIZING Many different social interactions

WHAT IS DISTURBANCE? Causes: - easily disturbed by people, watercraft - when approached too quickly, closely, noisily Signs: - abrupt changes in speed or direction - rapid swimming at surface - female shielding calf - repeated tail slapping, breaching, exhaling loudly

WHAT REALLY HAPPENS IN TAIJI Dolphin hunting occurs September – May Sold to marine parks 20,000 Risk of mercury poisoning Citizens are unaware

WHAT MERCURY DOES Poison Damaging Symptoms Sources Government knows Consumers have no idea

PROS AND CONS Pros: - Provides jobs - Pumps money into the economy - Pests - Specimens for aquariums Cons: -Endangers dolphins -Not humane -Mercury -Illegal -Dolphins are aware -Unknown how extensively their species have been depleted -Ecosystem balance is thrown off

CONSERVATION EFFORTS EDUCATION

WHAT COULD YOU DO TO HELP? Write letters! Marine parks Aquariums

SOURCES Website name: Dolphin Smart Page Name: Wild Dolphin Behaviors URL: sheet.pdf sheet.pdf Website name: OPS (oceanic preservation society) Page Name: Dolphin Slaughter in Taiji URL: Website name: MedicineNet Page Name: Mercury Poisoning URL: Website name: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Page Name: Mercury URL:

SOURCES CONT. Website name: The Cove Movie Page name: Blog URL: Website name: Save the Dolphins Page name: Starting a Cove Club at Your School URL: \ \ Website name: BlueVoice Page name: Dolphins URL: Website name: Luna Whaling Page name: Whaling – Con & Pro URL: Website name: OPS (oceanic preservation society) Page name: What you can do after seeing The Cove URL:

SOURCES CONT. Website name: International Whaling Page name: Pros and Cons of Whaling URL: nd_cons_of_whaling nd_cons_of_whaling Website name: Encyclopedia Britannica ADVOCACY for ANIMALS Page name: Dolphin Slaughter in Japan URL: 4/dolphin-slaughter-in-japan/ 4/dolphin-slaughter-in-japan/ Website name: Scientific American Page name: What is Mercury Poisoning? URL: mercury-poisoning/ mercury-poisoning/