2 min readAug 7, 2026 06:05 AM IST First published on: Aug 7, 2026 at 06:05 AM ISTMan had always assumed that he was more intelligent than dolphins,” wrote Douglas Adams in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, “because he had achieved so much — the wheel, New York, wars and so on — while all the dolphins had ever done was muck about in the water having a good time… dolphins had always believed that they were far more intelligent than man — for precisely the same reasons.” There is indeed quite a bit of culture, in the broadest sense of all human endeavour, that moves away from nature, that separates the homo sapien from other feeling, thinking mammals. But there is also enough of the universal “human” condition, beyond the over-rated quality of intelligence, that bridges the gap between species.A video posted by Geographe Marine Research, a whale conservation organisation, went viral this week. In it, a dolphin, named Fraggle, is seen carrying the body of her deceased calf. It is the fourth child she has lost. She is surrounded by others from her pod. Dolphins, along with cetaceans like whales, and land mammals including elephants and primates, are known to form social bonds and grieve, much like humans.AdvertisementThere has been an outpouring of sympathy for Fraggle. Of course, the fleeting sense of solidarity from a social media crowd is of little value to the grieving mother. In fact, emotion and empathy barely move the needle on how people treat each other — as a cursory glance at the wars and politics will show. Thankfully, Fraggle isn’t reliant on the homo sapien. Her pod is with her.