A wholphin is born!
By JenInTN
@JenInTN (27514)
United States
May 11, 2009 4:40am CST
I was reading aabout a liger which is the offspring of a tiger and a lion. At the botom of the page I saw a strange word. A Wholphin. This is apparently the offspring of a dolphin and a whale! This is a pretty rare occurance but there are two in captivity. Check this out.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolphin This is not a referral link. The bottom of this links page will lead you to past news stories about these creatures. How amazing is that?
2 people like this
9 responses
@Loen210 (1540)
• United States
13 May 09
Wow, thanks for letting us know about that. It's interesting how certain breeds or certain species can mate. But it's not fully natural, since they are in captivity, and perhaps not offered or given the opportunity to mate with others the same breed?
Anyway, it's interesting. I wonder what every breeds or types of animals can breed safely, and of course, by choice.
Cheers
1 person likes this
@JenInTN (27514)
• United States
13 May 09
There are several hybrids that have been given names now. It's really interesting to read about them. These wholpins have actually been seen in the wild before mating in captivity.I was actually researching the Liger when I came across this whophin. Thanks for the response.
@Redhornet117 (1248)
• Philippines
11 May 09
Natural hybrids. Very cool indeed. It's like nature is experimenting on itself. I wonder what other hybrids exists out there? I just know that if you cross a Shih Tzu and a Pitbull terrier you'll get a BULLSH...oh never mind.
@Amberina (1541)
• United States
11 May 09
It is a very interesting article and the animal looks like a dolphin only a really cool dolphin. What I'm wondering is why did the babies that where born before this one die? Was it because they where in captivity or was it because they aren't supposed to be mating? And is the current baby still alive? I guess to answer my questions I could go searching on the internet but I would rather make coffee instead at the moment lol. It is very interesting that these two mammals decided to get romantic and throw caution to the wind and mate. Maybe they know something us humans don't lol.
@JenInTN (27514)
• United States
11 May 09
LOL...I think that some of it has to do with their genes. I do know there have been various hybrids from different creatures that survive and then some that don't. I know that alot of the hybrids I read about are also born sterile. This wolphin was not but her offspring did die. Thanks for responding.
@Anora_Eldorath (6028)
• United States
11 May 09
Jen-
I would not have believed it if I had not read the articles, and used the link to the False Killer Whale. Not the friendly Flipper you'd want to meet if in the ocean, that's for certain. It's amazing what curious creatures exist in our ocean, it truly is the final frontier to be explored. I'll be interested to see if scientists begin to try to explore this False Killer Whale in the wild and see if indeed their species would naturally mate with a regular species of dolphin. Thanks for sharing this article, it's definately fascinating.
Namaste-Anora
@JenInTN (27514)
• United States
11 May 09
Hi Anora! I would have never thought it either. I read there have been some scientist follow the mating habits of dolphins and found that they can be very aggressive in their group of males and don't limit themselves to their own kind.I haven't read much on the rituals of the whale yet but I plan to read more. Thanks for the response and take care.
@anniefannie (1737)
• United States
11 May 09
i haven't seen this before. why would people want to mix a sweet natured animal with a shark is very confusing to me why don't they just let nature take its course. we have enough mixed up thing in our life as it is.
@JenInTN (27514)
• United States
11 May 09
That's true anniefannie! I would never condone an animal being purposely mixed. I think that there had been some found in the wild before this one was allowed in captivity. It is very rare but they had found some naturally. Thanks for your input and take care.
@inkstainedheart (455)
• United States
11 May 09
That's really cool-I've never heard of a wholphin before. Had I seen one of these in the aquarium, I would have thought it was just a species of whale I didn't know.
Thanks for posting that!
@mimpi1911 (25464)
• India
11 May 09
This is mind boggling! As long as its not harming ant species I think its good to expand on such kind of breeds. Wholphin looks cool!
Thanks for sharing this!
@paula27661 (15811)
• Australia
11 May 09
That is so amazing! I would have never thought it was possible and it's nature way of creating new species I suppose. Even the number of teeth is between the whale's and the dolphin's! Thanks for posting this; I really appreciate checking out this incredible creature. A dolphin and a whale how about that? Love the wholphin!
@JenInTN (27514)
• United States
11 May 09
LOL...love the wolphin. I was very shocked at how many hybrids of different animals there were when I researched it a little deeper. I would have never thought it either. I was researching a liger in the beginning and saw the link for the wolphin..lol..Thanks for responding and take care.
@sunil_008 (1269)
• India
11 May 09
hi jen,
since its a high breed fish it sounds strange and hopefully will be a big one...i didn't check the link now but will check it later...since dolphin is human friendly and whale is also not a threat to humans i hope it will be a eco and human friendly mammal.hope in days to come it will serve the human beings...
