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Dolphin 'happiness' measured by scientists in France ( in English )

By on May 28, 2018

Scientists working with dolphins at a marine park near Paris have attempted to measure how the animals feel about aspects of their lives in captivity.
In what researchers say is the first project to examine captivity "from the animals' perspective", the team assessed what activities dolphins looked forward to most.
They found that the marine mammals most keenly anticipated interacting with a familiar human.
The results, they say, show that "better human-animal bonds equals better welfare".
The study, published in the journal Applied Animal Behaviour Science, was part of a three-year project to measure dolphin welfare in a captive setting.
Lead researcher Dr Isabella Clegg worked at Parc Astérix, a theme park with one of France's largest dolphinariums.
With colleagues at the University of Paris animal behaviour lab, she designed experiments to decode dolphin behaviour - essentially looking for physical postures that indicate how the animals were feeling.
"We wanted to find out what activities in captivity they like most," Dr Clegg told the BBC.

Dolphins in captivity were said to enjoy contact with their trainersImage copyrightEPA
Image captionDolphins in captivity were said to enjoy contact with their trainers

To work this out, she tested three activities: a trainer coming and playing with dolphins; adding toys to the pool; and a control, which meant leaving the dolphins to their own devices.
"We found a really interesting result - all dolphins look forward most to interacting with a familiar human," Dr Clegg said.
The animals showed this anticipation by "spy hopping", the action of peering above the surface and looking in the direction that trainers usually approached from.
The dolphins would also increase their level of activity in the pool and spend more time at the edge.
"We've seen this same thing in other zoo animals and in farm animals," said Dr Clegg, adding: "Better human-animal bonds equals better welfare."

A 'happy' social life

The question of whether it is right or wrong to hold these animals in captivity has long been a point of contention, particularly in France.
The French government recently overturned a proposed ban on the captive breeding of dolphins in marine parks such as Parc Astérix.
The lifting of that ban was a huge relief for Birgitta Mercera, who runs the dolphinarium. She told the BBC that allowing the dolphins to breed, to raise their own offspring, was a critical part of what she suggested was a happy - though very different - life from that in the wild.
"I think that wild dolphins are happier in the wild, and captive-born dolphins are much happier in captivity.
"They're born here - it is their life. And it's our priority to look after them."

Enthusiastic display

Talking to Ms Mercera and the trainers at Parc Astérix - who clearly adore the dolphins - and observing the aquatic mammals, it is easy to conclude that they have happy lives.
Their leaping from the water during training sessions, and their curious approaches to the edge of the pool appear to be enthusiastic.
But Dr Susanne Schultz from the University of Manchester, who has studied the social behaviour of wild marine mammals, points out that the study cannot tell us "if a dolphin in captivity is happier than it would be if it was in the wild".
"I do think it's a valuable finding that dolphins in captivity potentially seek out contact with humans," Dr Schultz added.
"And I think that finding can be applied to how we manage other charismatic, intelligent species.
"But just because a dolphin interacts with you doesn't mean that it would choose that lifestyle if it was given a choice.
According to the UK charity Whale and Dolphin Conservation, there are at least 3,000 cetaceans - the group of "toothed whales" that dolphins belong to - in captivity in 50 countries around the world.
Dr Clegg estimates that there could be as many as 5,000, as some animals are not officially registered.
In addition, in the more than 150 years since the first whales and dolphins were brought from the wild and into aquariums, scientists have learned a huge amount about their intelligence and complex social lives.
Dr Clegg says that, rather than answering the question of whether it is right or wrong to have these animals in captivity, she hopes the findings will help improve the lives of those thousands of animals that will spend their lives in dolphinariums.
"I think the question of whether they should be in captivity is really important and we should be asking it at the moment," she says.
"And it has two elements: are the animals in good welfare? And what is their purpose? And we have to look deeper into the animals' behaviour to understand how they're feeling.

"But even if they are in good welfare, we need more research to ensure that their presence is really engaging people with conservation. If they're just here for our entertainment, that can't be justified."

OnePlus 6 review - New mobile launched

By on May 21, 2018
The OnePlus 6 has been all the buzz of late. With numerous leaks and rumors about the device, the excitement around the brand had reached a fever pitch among OnePlus’ legion of fans. Last week, the phone was finally launched in China and the brand has stayed true to its core mantra—which is, providing flagship grade specs at a mid-range price tag. OnePlus 6 is the most premium variant in the company’s lineup thus far and has been priced at $629. Let us see how the device compares with other flagship smartphones that are dominating the current market:
Design and build
Lately, we have seen flagship smartphones race among each other to provide a premium looking glass screen on their handsets. Accordingly, OnePlus 6 too has an upgraded design—most notably by infusing a glossy and smooth glass material at the front and back of the device. The smartphone also comes with a metallic frame to reinforce the design and to prevent flexes and unwanted bends.
Another new feature on the smartphone is the placement of the Alert Slider, which has now been shifted to the right hand side. Unlike iPhones and Google Pixel phones, the OnePlus has not yet done away with the 3.5mm headphone jack. The port for the headphone jack lies at the bottom alongside the speaker and the charging port.
Display
Just like its market competitors, OnePlus comes with a notch on its display. Much like the iPhone X, OnePlus 6 too has a groove on the top of the display that accommodates the front camera and the earpiece.
The smartphone comes with a tall 6.28-inch Optic AMOLED display, which features Full HD resolution.The notched display on the phone also allows for a 402PPI pixel density and  has a 83.8 percent screen-to-body ratio. The phone screen is also layered with Corning Gorilla Glass 5 which makes it less susceptible to cracks and scratches.
Performance
OnePlus 6 was launched with the tag line “The Speed You Need”.  And the specifications on the new handset proves that the device has lived up to the hype. The phone comes with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 chipset, which is the most powerful chipset in an Android smartphone till date. The smartphone also enjoys a substantial 6GB RAM and further 64GB onboard storage (for the base variant). In the premium variants, the RAM value increases to 8GB  along with either 128GB or 256GB of internal storage.
Software
OnePlus 6 comes with the latest Android Oreo (v8.1). To customise the OS and to spice up the interface, OnePlus has also provided the nascent device with Oxygen OS. The Oxygen OS is close to the stock version of Android and carries minimum bloatware but its UI provides loads of customisation options.
Camera
OnePlus comes with a dual camera setup at the back, which comprises of 16MP and 20MP sensors. The primary 16MP camera comes with a wide f/1.7 aperture and the Electronic Image Stabilization (EIS) and Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) features to prevent blurry images. The secondary 20MP camera also comes with a f/1.7 aperture, which works alongside the primary camera to pack in more details and accurate colours into the images. Further-more, this dual camera setup ensures fancy portrait shots with the Bokeh effect.
The rear camera also carries abundant potential for videography. With its dual camera feature, the OnePlus 6 can shoot some beautiful videos. The handset can take 4K videos at 60fps as well as shoot lower resolution videos like Full HD and HD at up to 240 and 480 fps respectively. With its capacity to shoot videos at high frame rates, OnePlus 6 is useful when shooting  Slo-Mo and Ultra Slo-Mo videos as well.
Up front, a 16MP camera resides on the notch of the OnePlus 6, which comes with a f/2.0 aperture. With such a setup, OnePlus is good for taking nifty selfies, which remain consistent even in low light. The company has promised a software upgrade in the near future, which would allow users to take portrait selfies with blurred backgrounds using only a single camera.
Security
Security wise, OnePlus 6 comes with a fingerprint sensor right beneath the back camera. On top of that, the smartphone also has a face recognition feature like the iPhone X. During the launch event, the audiences was baffled to see the smartphone unlock with astounding swiftness inspite of upgraded security features.
Battery
Despite all the enhancements, the battery on the handset is still of the same capacity as that of its predecessor. Since the battery capacity is the same, we can expect a similar battery life for the new device. Nonetheless, the smartphone comes with a fast charging feature known as Dash Charging. According to the company, with this feature the device gains enough power to last a whole day with just 30 minutes of charging.
Price and availability
The OnePlus 6 comes in three colour variants: Mirror Black, Midnight Black, and Silk White. There are also three variants of OnePlus6 in terms of memory configurations: 6GB/64GB, 8GB/128GB, and 8GB/256GB. The base variant is priced at $529, whereas the 8GB/128GB and 8GB/256GB variants come with a heavier price tag of $579 and $629 respectively. The OnePlus 6 will be available at stores beginning May 22. The limited Silk White version will be available from June 5.
OnePlus 6 Specifications in a nutshell:
  • Display: 6.28-inch Full HD Optic AMOLED; 19:9 aspect ratio, Corning Gorilla Glass 5
  • CPU: Octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 845
  • OS: Android Oreo (v8.1) with OxygenOS on the top
  • RAM: 6/8 GB
  • GPU: Adreno 630
  • Storage: 64/128/256 GB
  • Rear Camera: 16MP (f/1.7, 1.22µm, EIS, OIS) 20MP (f/1.7, 1.0µm), PDAF, dual-LED flash
  • Front Camera: 16 MP front-facing camera, f/2.0 aperture, EIS, Auto HDR
  • Sensors: Fingerprint, Accelerometer, Gyro, proximity, compass
  • SIM: Dual SIM with 4G
  • Color Variant(s): Mirror Black, Midnight Black, Silk White
  • Battery: 3,300 mAh with Dash Charge