Dolphin Diaries: My 25 Years with Spotted Dolphins in the Bahamas

by Denise L. Herzing

Dr. Denise Herzing began her research with a pod of spotted dolphins in the 1980s. Now, almost three decades later, she has forged strong ties with many of these individuals, has witnessed and recorded them feeding, playing, fighting, mating, giving birth and communicating. Dolphin Diaries is an account of Herzing's research and her surprising findings on wild dolphin behavior, interaction, and communication. Readers will be drawn into the highs and lows―the births and deaths, the discovery of unique and personalized behaviors, the threats dolphins face from environmental changes, and the many funny and wonderful encounters Denise painstakingly documented over many years. This is the perfect book for anyone who loves these incredibly versatile and intelligent creatures and wants to find out more than the dolphin show at the zoo can offer. Herzing is a true pioneer in her field and deserves a place in the pantheon of naturalists and scientists next to Dian Fossey and Jane Goodall.

Genres: Nonfiction, Animals, Science, Nature, Natural History, Memoir, Biology

336 pages, Paperback

First published July 5, 2011

Reviews

[Brian Griffith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Herzing conducts anthropology on dolphins, watching them intently like she was Margaret Mead or Jane Goodall under the waves -- for 25 years. When it comes to pushing the envelope on inter-species communication, she doesn't try teaching the dolphins English, and doesn't really do heavy-duty linguistic analysis of the dolphins' chatter. She mostly plays with them, just building up the level of familiarity and interaction, almost like making friends by playing charades underwater. This book is not a scientific tome aimed at fellow academics. It's a personal life-at-sea story, told in ordinary English, perhaps addressed to all the girls and young women who might aspire to a ground-breaking career exploring the worlds and abilities of other animal species. To Herzing's mind, it's as great as being an astronaut.

[Thomas White · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is important in three distinct ways. It first shows that in order to do the kind of solid science that lets us understand dolphins, one has to commit to years of difficult, careful, patient research in the wild. Herzing's accomplishment on this score alone elevates her to the same tier as such scientists as Jane Goodall, Dian Fossey and Cynthia Moss. Second, the book provides an impressive amount of evidence for the richness and complexity of dolphin social life and social intelligence. Herzing has been privileged to be allowed by this cetacean community to learn more about who they are and how they live, and the importance of the information that she conveys to the rest of us cannot be overstated. Third, and most important, the ethical implications of Herzing's work are clear, profound and troubling. Her research provides important support for those who argue that dolphins are "nonhuman persons" whose "rights" should be recognized. Any reader who reaches the end of the book and is not convinced that the willful slaughter of dolphins, their preventable deaths in connection with human fishing and the captivity of dolphins for any purpose are ethically indefensible simply wasn't paying attention to Herzing's masterful exposition. Thomas White, Fellow, Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics and author of IN DEFENSE OF DOLPHINS

[Kirsten · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent retelling of a longitudinal study! It is presented almost like a diary, as the name implies, telling the highlights of the study each year. I'm always skeptical reading about dolphin intelligence studies, but I really appreciated the thoughtful way that this one is carried out and presented. While it has a more qualitative approach than you typically think of in a research study, it is done with careful, keen observation that leads to insight and understanding appropriate to the goal. Loved the book - and I'd love to join them on a trip someday!

[Jean · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is packed with many fascinating accounts of the author observing dolphins in the Bahamas from May-September each year for 25 years. If you are curious about dolphin behavior, this is the book for you.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

The information about dolphins in the book is worth five stars but the writing barely deserves three. Denise Herzing has some amazing stories to tell about dolphin behavior after spending 25 years with them, and I was quite impressed with her love and commitment to the dolphins. Although an extremely meticulous researcher, she seriously lacks storytelling talent. This book is written in a very repetitious, choppy style and was very hard for me to get through. She also has a tendency to be extremely defensive about her work which started to get irritating at times. With a little writing help and editing this book could have been absolutely amazing.

[Jacquelin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dr.Denise Herzing describes her 2 and a 1/2 decades of studies with dolphins in a unique way I think that she has enough for describing everything perfectly I love how she described the Dolphins action as if she was the one doing it all I think I say that all her research will be helpful to people like me who want to be a cetologist I can tell that she loved dolphins and loves all of her work with them. I think that she is a great author.

[Jeanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

All I can say is, sign me up for this job. Working in the Bahamas, on a boat all day, in the water frolicking with dolphins every day in the summer, for 25 years. My dream job. The book was packed with interesting information about dolphin life and extraordinary detail of their sex lives. OK so there were a few hurricanes to deal with, but mostly it was a big slice of heaven.

[Wendelle]

Dr. Denise Hertzing spent over 25 years to dolphin studies, with 1/3 of her year devoted to fieldwork in the open ocean observing dolphins. Her methods and philosophy are heavily influenced by Jane Goodall and other pioneering primatologists- namely, naming instead of numbering the dolphins, human habituation, tracing family trees, recording distinct dolphin personalities.

[Vrushali Khot · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredibly committed work, fascinating content, eye-opening information. Not so skilled story-telling, however. Deserves the five stars for the work that has gone into it and the increase in our understanding due to it.

[Heather Landskro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book and stories about dolphin!!

[R.M. Lutz · Rating 4 out of 5]

While sometimes repetitive, this book offers interesting insight not only into dolphin behavior, but also into some of the ethical issues surrounding research of intelligent animals, including dolphins. Recommended to people interested in dolphins, especially from an animal ethics perspective. (If you don't have a strong interest in the subject matter, it may turn into a drag).

[Amira · Rating 1 out of 5]

a lot of this book is about the author and not spotted dolphins so if you are interested in Denise then you may love this book. I was only interested in Spotted dolphins so it was not what I was looking for

[Fidelia Stables · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was excited to read this book, I only got halfway thru before calling it quits. Not sure if it was writing style but it was boring and not what expected.

[Caroline · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book reads like journal entries compiled into a book. But it lacks the story and arc to pull it off. There are numerous fascinating anecdotes and tidbits scattered throughout, about diving, about biology, about dolphins, about the Bahamas. But I never got a sense of the author, except that she loves dolphins and hates paperwork. I only remember 2 dolphins out of the many she describes, because she tries so hard to be dispassionate, and because her descriptions are so disjointed. She does not tell stories; rather, she goes chronologically through key events in each field year.

If I was trying to model myself on Herzing, that would be helpful. But as someone interested in the life of a field biologist and the biology and interactions with dolphins, it was frustrating. In addition, there is a major verb tense problem that turned nearly every page into a wince as she went from past to present to future to past without any regard for the reader. I suspect she wrote this to try to fund her ongoing research, and the research is awesome--I want her to continue. But the writing? Meh.

[Shari · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this book had a lot of potential but after having it from the library for almost a month and forcing myself to get halfway through it, I finally just gave up. From a subject that has SO MUCH potential -- I just found it very dry and difficult to read. Difficult because of how uninteresting the dolphins seemed from the way this book was written.

I'd love to read a scientist's dolphin journal that was a bit more heavily edited and more structured to actually cover ground in a more interesting way, rather than the boring, almost "captain's log" type of feel that this book had. Disappointed.

[Ireadbooks]

Good

[Maggie H]

S O B B I N G but we knew that was coming