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Human-Dolphin Partnership Reserve
ahbe writes that the Myanmar government recently established a protected reserve for partnering between fisherman and wild dolphins. From the article: "The fascinating partnership involves fishermen summoning the dolphins to voluntarily herd schools of fish toward the boats and awaiting nets. With the aid of the river-dwelling dolphins, the fishermen can increase the size of their catches by threefold, and the dolphins appear to benefit by more easily preying on the cornered fish in both nets and on the muddy banks of the river."
Usefulness to humans seems to be a huge evolutionary advantage.
There's also a small population of Irawaddy Dolphins in the Mekong river where Laos Cambodia and Thailand meet. They also have a population less than 100.
Sadly, being useful to local fishermen is probably the only way these creatures will be allowed to continue to exist, as human beings aren't really keen on cutting pollution, not building dams, and protecting the fisheries. Currently they're on parole from a very small tourism industry around viewing them.
Hopefully more fishermen will pick this up and they will become as common as elephants, water buffalo and the other useful creatures around here.
You do realise that this type of partnership doesn't demonstrate any special intelligence, don't you? Farmers have been using dogs to herd sheep for hundreds of years, but I don't see anybody suggesting that dogs are as intelligent as human beings.
Well, if they started forming large groups and killing themselves, then they'd probably evolve our form of intelligence as well... afterall, the #1 natural enemy of human beings throughout the ages has been, well, human beings.
Buckle your ROFL belt, we're in for some LOLs.