Dolphin Curiosity - Oil Painting

Dolphin Curiosity - Oil Painting

Oil Painting on canvas (40×40 cm)

I have been so fortunate in my life to have seen many, many dolphins – in Table Bay, on the west coast of South Africa as well as off the coast of Robben Island. So, this little painting is for all the dolphins: may we always be blessed to have these wonderful creatures in our oceans. Dolphins are caught be fishermen, slaughtered by trawlers and horribly killed in some far east countries.

The following is an extract from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolphin

Dolphins are considered to be amongst the most intelligent of animals and their often friendly appearance and seemingly playful attitude have made them popular in human culture.

Dolphins are social, living in pods (also called “schools”) of up to a dozen individuals. In places with a high abundance of food, pods can join temporarily, forming an aggregation called a superpod; such groupings may exceed a thousand dolphins. The individuals communicate using a variety of clicks, whistles and other vocalizations. They also use ultrasonic sounds for echolocation.

Dolphins also show cultural behaviour, something long believed to be a quality unique to humans. In May 2005, a discovery was made in Australia which shows this cultural aspect of dolphin behaviour: Some dolphins, such as the Indo-Pacific Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops aduncus) teach their young to use tools. The dolphins break sponges off and cover their snouts with them thus protecting their snouts while foraging. This knowledge of how to use a tool is mostly transferred from mothers to daughters, unlike simian primates, where the knowledge is generally passed on to both sexes. The technology to use sponges as mouth protection is not genetically inherited but a taught behaviour.

Some dolphin species face an uncertain future, especially some of the river dolphin species such as the Amazon River Dolphin, and the Ganges and Yangtze River Dolphin, all of which are critically or seriously endangered. A 2006 survey found no individuals of the Yangtze River Dolphin, leading to the conclusion that the species is now functionally extinct.[36]

Contamination of environment – the oceans, seas, and rivers – is an issue of concern, especially pesticides, heavy metals, plastics, and other industrial and agricultural pollutants which do not disintegrate rapidly in the environment are reducing dolphin populations, and resulting in dolphins building up unusually high levels of contaminants. Injuries or deaths due to collisions with boats, especially their propellers, are also common.

Various fishing methods, most notably purse seine fishing for tuna and the use of drift and gill nets, results in a large amounts of dolphins being killed inadvertently.[37] Accidental by-catch in gillnets and incidental captures in antipredator nets used in marine fish farms are common and poses a risk for mainly local dolphin populations.38 Dolphin safe labels have been introduced to reassure consumers that the fish sold has been caught in a dolphin friendly way. In some parts of the world such as Taiji in Japan and the Faroe Islands, dolphins are traditionally considered as food, and killed in harpoon or drive hunts.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolphin

Dolphin Curiosity - Oil Painting belongs to the following groups:

"Real" Life Artwork (No Photography), All Around the Styles, Animal Kingdom, Decorative and Traditional Art, Dolphins & Whales, Exotic Mammals, Fine Arts, Nature's Wonders, Oil Painting, Out of the Blue (75%+ Blue), Prize Challenges!!, Realist Paintings About Water, Realist Traditional Art, The true beauty, Underwater & Sealife (Limit 2 Per Day) and Wildlife and Pet Paintings Available for sale as

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