rogue

While all eyes are on Moo Deng, they should be on the horny dolphins.

Throughout the year, several animal influencers have made the world smile.

We saw the rise of Moo Deng, the unflinchingly moist, perpetually pissed off, pygmy hippo. She became a star in a Thailand zoo, with her plump little form live-streamed for all to see.

An image of a baby pygmy hippo who went viral online called Moo Deng. She's like a tiny hippo and is very moist and wet.Perpetually moist queen. Image: Khao Kheow Open Zoo.

Then there was Pesto the penguin, a ginormous king penguin chick living in Sea Life Aquarium in Melbourne. His inexplicably fluffy brown coat, combined with the fact that he towered over his foster parents, made him an instant internet success.

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An image of a baby penguin that is surprisingly very large and fluffy and brown. His name is Pesto and he lives in Sea Life Aquarium in Melbourne. Pesto is a big, fluffy boy. Image: Sea Life Aquarium.

I learnt a lot of random facts about animals this year: that penguins are the only animals to produce both milk and eggs, and that flamingos aren't born pink. They become that colour due to their diet.

Watch: Moo Deng was THE icon of 2024. Post continues below.

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Video via TikTok/@bestofmoodeng.

I also learnt something a little more unsavoury: dolphins may be adorable, shiny, sea mammals, but they also can be lonely, depresso jerks.

Okay, maybe that's casting a wide, critical net, but let me explain.

A spate of attacks by a lonely 'sexually frustrated' dolphin.

Recently, a dolphin in Japan made headlines for displaying aggressive and antisocial behaviour. A man swimming off the coast of Tsuruga in central Japan said he was 'lucky to be alive' after a run in with it.

Takuma Goto was swimming with a friend when the dolphin attacked his friend and then turned on him and bit him.

"I genuinely believed that I was going to die. I was most worried that I was going to be dragged under the water and further out to sea," said Mr Goto.

He sustained bites to his wrist, forearm, right hand and upper arm, and needed stitches, per The Telegraph. "The insides of my finger were popping out," he added.

Experts said that it was likely the same sad dolphin that attacked as many as 15 other swimmers.

Biologist and lead investigator for the Shark Bay Dolphin Project, Dr Simon Allen told the BBC that it is likely a "single male bottlenose dolphin", rejected from its social group, seeking "companionship".

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"Just as in humans and other social animals, hormonal fluctuations, sexual frustration or the desire to dominate might drive the dolphin to injure the people it interacts with," he said.

Mari Kobayashi, head of the marine biology laboratory at Tokyo University of Agriculture, told The Telegraph, "We know that males sometimes communicate by biting each other, so it may be that it is trying to do this with humans," she said.

"Also, this is a species that usually lives in groups, so it is possible it is lonely."

So what is going on with these sexually frustrated, lonely male dolphins? And why is it that this anti-social phenomenon feels so familiar to what we see in humans?

Social bonds are important for dolphins.

A dolphin and a human swim next to each other.Dolphins, much like humans, rely on complex social structures for their happiness and wellbeing. Image: Getty.

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Much like humans, being rejected from society has a big impact on dolphins.

"Group-living in a community or society and having multiple social bonds is very important to dolphins," biologist Simon Allen told Mamamia.

A rejected dolphin can become a problem, much as humans rejected from their societies can find themselves engaging in anti-social behaviour.

"There are some similarities between coastal bottlenose dolphin societies and humans, such as: living in a large, open, social network; having good friends, friends of friends, and, of course, some enemies; having individual 'names' (signature whistles) that they use to refer to each other," says Allen.

"That social connectedness is important for well-being. Dolphins, like us, also have very big brains relative to their body size, and with complex social lives and strong hormonal fluctuations comes the ups and downs of social acceptance/rejection."

He says that the ones who find themselves outside the group can get into trouble.

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Either they end up being abused ("because few people take the time to understand dolphin social norms") or they end up being the abuser ("because they are big and powerful and there is plenty of scope for misunderstanding").

Are 'horny' dolphins really sexual predators?

Much has been said online about the sexual habits of male dolphins. It's well known that male dolphins can form groups or 'alliances' that they use to 'team up' and 'single out' female dolphins they wish to mate with, while she tries to escape, as reported in The Atlantic.

While this is abominable behaviour in humans, Allen tells us that no, we shouldn't call them sexual predators. We should not anthropomorphise, or attribute human characteristics or behaviour, to an animal.

"Bottlenose dolphins have a promiscuous mating system in which both sexes mate with many partners," explains Allen.

"To refer to one species or taxonomic group as 'sexual predators' is an inappropriate application of a highly charged human term or value to another species' social system."

However, he does say that dolphins use sex as a 'social tool' and that not all of it is for the purpose of reproduction.

"It is frequently used as a form of both affiliative and aggressive interaction. Social play in dolphins often involves sexual activity, stroking, probing and genital touching. A dolphin might attack another dolphin, or indeed a human that it is socialising with, to express discontent or desires or to attempt to dominate or out of frustration," he says.

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And this is where we get those attacks on humans.

"A dolphin attacking a human is not a common occurrence, but it is not surprising in some cases, because, as above, few humans really understand dolphin body language or less intense forms of communication before things ramp up."

But, is it less about sex, and more about loneliness?

A singular dolphin swims through the water to perform a jump in the air.Being the 'lone wolf' can take its toll. Image: Getty.

It seems the issue with the cluster of dolphin attacks in the Pacific is less to do with the dolphins' overall mating culture, and more to do with their lacking social bonds.

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Allen explains, "Males can sometimes be ejected from their alliance or core network, perhaps because of some wrongdoing that their friends will not tolerate.

"There are numerous cases of 'solitary' dolphins that seek social interactions with humans in coastal areas of the world recorded over the last few centuries. These individuals may be social outcasts looking for social stimulation, and they have most often been males, although some have been female."

Of course, that 'interaction' can be very violent for humans. 

It seems that loneliness impacts dolphins much the same as it does humans. 

"It would seem very likely that, just as in humans and other highly social animals, social connectedness and a sense of belonging is important for wellbeing, survival, and reproduction," explains Allen.

"Socially isolated individuals in many social animals, like dolphins and humans, seem to be less happy, less healthy and tend to age faster than those with strong social bonds within their network."

So, what does this tell us about humankind? 

A lonely man sits alone in a dark room.Loneliness isn't good for us physically or mentally. Image: Getty.

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We can't equate the entire dolphin world to humans, but there are some parallels.

People who get socially outcast can end up partaking in anti-social behaviour, and overall loneliness eats at our core, making us less happy and less healthy.

In humans, the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare reports that loneliness has been linked to premature death, poor physical health and poor mental health.

It can also lead to greater psychological distress such as mental illness, emotional distress, anti-social behaviours and poor immune function.

In 2022, almost one in seven Australians felt socially isolated.

The same year, Time ran a feature about how social isolation impacts extreme behaviour. A 2021 study they cite, by the RAND Corporation, found that being lonely is a reason many people feel pushed to extremist views and join extremist groups.

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In 2023, ABC in America reported on the loneliness epidemic in the country. The article was prompted after three shootings occurred in three days, all put down to the perpetrator being socially isolated, they report.

"Clearly, isolation and loneliness are at play in a lot of violence," psychologist Dr. Edwin Fisher told the publication. "They may be important red flags for us to recognise and try to help people who are prone to violence."

Professor of developmental psychology Dr. Niobe Way, added, "They start to disconnect from their own humanity because they're not able to find the relationships they want, and many are depressed and angry about it."

Now, are we saying that dolphins exist in exactly the same way? Absolutely not.

However, there appears to be a tangible link amongst social animals that social exclusion and isolation lead to feelings of loneliness, depression, and potentially, anti-social behaviour.

It's a good reminder that a happy society is one where everyone feels seen, heard and included. And, that the outcomes of exclusion, the breaking of vulnerable hearts, appear far too great.

Basically, the dolphins may need to accept one another, but so do we.

Feature image: Getty.

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