Deep Thinkers: Inside the Minds of Whales, Dolphins, and Porpoises: journey into the world of cetaceans

A new publication on marine mammals.

Long fascinated by cetacean intelligence, Janet Mann, professor of biology and psychology at Washington, D.C.’s Georgetown  University, has compiled the work of researchers specialized in the topic in Deep Thinkers: Inside the Minds of Whales, Dolphins, and Porpoises. Without claiming to resolve the multiple questions raised by marine mammal behaviour, Mann’s work nevertheless succeeds in illustrating the complexity of these animals in a reader-friendly format.

This work is divided into eight chapters, each of which is sub-divided into a series of articles that notably address topics such as cognition and communication in cetaceans, as well as their social ties, their culture and our relationships with them. Did you know that certain species of dolphins develop lasting “friendships”? Or that whale songs can be passed from one population to another? Mann and her collaborators discuss the dynamics that drive cetacean populations, drawing on the work of pioneers in the field such as John Lilly or Wayne Batteau, as well as that of contemporary researchers, including Hal Whitehead.