Monday, February 12, 2001

WILMINGTON, NC – Dr. Laela Sayigh, associate professor of biological sciences at UNC Wilmington, is among the experts featured on “Encounters with the Unexplained: Are Dolphins Smarter than Us?” which airs on PAX-TV at 6 p.m., Sunday, Feb. 18. For Time Warner Cable subscribers, PAX-TV broadcasts on channel 11. Charter Communications airs PAX on channel 10.

Sayigh’s research focuses on behavior and communication in free-ranging bottlenose dolphins and the process of vocal development. She is also assessing stock structure of bottlenose dolphin off the North Carolina coast. Before coming to UNCW, Sayigh was part of a collaborative project team studying 100 dolphins in Sarasota, Fla. Her studies examined the vocalization of young calves and how they acquired their sounds. Her main focus is on the signature whistle of dolphins, which is the sound that each dolphin makes. Each dolphin produces its own unique whistle. Sayigh graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania and received a Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology/Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Joint Program.

“Encounters with the Unexplained” is a weekly documentary series produced through a joint venture with Grizzly Adams Productions and Total Living Network.