Bloganuary Prompt; “What is your favorite animal?”
The first animal that came to mind, but that, for sure was a dog. I’ve had five dogs in my adult life, all of them brought different levels of companionship and happiness and insight on human, other animal relationships.
But if I think about my favorite animal, I think it might be, might just have to be, the bottlenose dolphin. i’ve always loved to swim, and when I was a kid, I loved, pretending I was a dolphin… They are amazing swimmers. They’re also very animated, and very social. And apparently quite intelligent.
Yep, my favorite animal has got to be the dolphin… Aquatic joy, unsurpassed!
Have a listen:
1/2_Full, All GOOD 
Lol, Flipper!
I’m gonna add this to the post, thanks for the inspiration…
Lol, good one!
My best friend loves dolphins too. She once swam with her beloved “spirit” animal, and it became a favorite memory.
Love this! Your best friend is super blessed, thanks for sharing…👍🏽🙂✌🏽
Indian sponges, belonging to the phylum Porifera, represent a diverse group of aquatic animals inhabiting the waterbodies of the Indian subcontinent. Despite their seemingly simple appearance, these organisms play crucial ecological roles, contributing to the health and balance of aquatic ecosystems.
https://www.indianetzone.com/44/sponges.htm
I was lucky enough to volunteer at the Mystic Marinelife Aquarium when I was a teen, back when they still had dolphins. If you were on marine theater duty and asked the trainers nicely, they would often let volunteers backstage to play with the dolphins between shows.
This usually meant playing fetch. The trainers were quite specific – toss the ball, but make the dolphins toss it back to you. Under no circumstances attempt to take the ball from the dolphin’s mouth… they are immensely strong and their favorite game is “let’s pull the fool in the pool!” Most of the pod were perfectly happy to toss the ball back and forth – except for Sassy, the pod matriarch. No, she would fetch the ball, then rise out of the water, offering it to you in her mouth. She could be quite winsome and persuasive in this, cocking her body this way and that, as if to say, “Why won’t you take it? I’m offering it so nicely!”
If you didn’t fall for her ploy, she would then take the ball to the bottom of the pool and sulk, turning one silver eye back up to you… “Hah. Come and get it NOW, two-legger!”
I always enjoyed my time with the dolphins, but I have to admit, I liked the beluga whales better. They were like those fat, funny little kids who can’t quite keep up with the rest of the group on the playground… “Hey guys, wait for me!” You’d throw the ball to them, and they couldn’t quite manage to get their mouths around it… they’d bump it back to you with their foreheads, then sit and squeal, so proud of themselves for accomplishing the feat!
I know now that captivity is not kind to these immensely intelligent creatures, but I am still grateful for having had the chance to know them, up close and personal.