Today I received a Facebook request from Paul Huxtable (the expert wildlife and dolphin photographer based in Adelaide, South Australia) asking that I post this video on my website. Once I saw the title, I couldn’t not share it, I mean I love dolphins.

The video was put together to raise awareness of the dolphin slaughter that takes place every year in Taiji, Japan and on September 1st it started again. Don’t worry, the video doesn’t feature blood and gore, instead it does a great job of personalizing dolphins and showing that each dolphin is unique, expressive and identifiable. Not all dolphins look the same because each can be distinguished by the distinct markings on their dorsal fins or as the video says “no two fins are alike.” Unfortunately, a couple of the dolphins have had some really close calls with boats, but they lived to tell the tale and that all becomes a part of their personal history.

This video is a great introduction to the tedious, but very rewarding process of dolphin identification based on photographs of each dolphin’s dorsal fin. It’s a common way scientists study and track dolphins during long-term research projects. Sometimes scientists come up with names for their research subjects and I’m very curious to know the history of the dolphin names in this video, which include everything from Babe Ruth to Spencer to Fluffy.

So take time to watch this video and if you still haven’t seen The Cove movie, you really need to see it. It’s a must watch for anyone who loves dolphins.