A história do comportamento animal aplicado aos mamíferos marinhos: da época medieval ao século XVIII

Abstract

The Portuguese discoveries brought new worlds to the world and among it new knowledge from marine fauna has appeared. Stories from the first sailors and explorers, and using nowadays information regarding animal biology, allows identifying species and even some natural behaviour of the great mammals living in the oceans. Therefore, marine mammals, i.e., seals, whales and dolphins, which were first considered monsters or strange creatures by the Medieval Europe became an important animal group in the relation of the Renaissance men with Nature. Historical sources from the 15^th and 16^th centuries show representations and descriptions of the maritime journeys through the Atlantic that allowed investigating the foundations of animal behaviour. From Frutuoso, Gândavo or Léry work, we can find the documental basis to justify scientifically the arise of ethology applied to marine mammals and to study its evolution along the centuries.