Cetology

Cetologists, or those who practice cetology, seek to understand and explain cetacean evolution, distribution, morphology, behavior, community dynamics, and other topics.

Ancient Greek fishermen created an artificial notch on the dorsal fin of dolphins entangled in nets so that they could tell them apart years later.

Approximately 2,300 years ago, Aristotle carefully took notes on cetaceans while traveling on boats with fishermen in the Aegean Sea.

It mentions orcs that had dog-like teeth and would demonstrate the same kind of aggression towards other cetaceans as wild dogs would to other terrestrial animals.

Only decades later, French zoologist and paleontologist Baron Georges Cuvier (1769–1832) described the animals as mammals without any hind legs.

Skeletons were assembled and displayed in the first natural history museums, and on a closer look and comparisons with other extinct animal fossils, led zoologists to conclude that cetaceans came from a family of ancient land mammals.

This came from both concern about wild populations and also the capture of larger animals such as the orca, and gaining popularity of dolphin shows in marine parks.

[citation needed] An alternative method of studying cetaceans is through examination of dead carcasses that wash up on the shore.

If properly collected and stored, these carcasses can provide important information that is difficult to obtain in field studies.

[2] In recent decades, methods of identifying individual cetaceans have enabled accurate population counts and insights into the life cycles and social structures of various species.

Once Biggs and Ellis found they could recognize certain individuals, they realised that the animals travel in stable groups called pods.