Cetacean

Multiple realities
(covers information from several alternate timelines)

Cetaceans were aquatic mammals indigenous to the planet Earth and many other worlds with large oceans, such as Zadar IV. Some cetacean species were considered sentient beings. The blue whale was the largest known creature ever to inhabit the Earth.

In 2286, an unidentified probe tried to make contact with the then-extinct humpback whale species, and in doing so wreaked havoc on Earth's ecosystem, before Admiral Kirk managed to transport two members of the species from the 20th century back to the 23rd. The probe, apparently satisfied, reversed its course. (Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home)

Harry Bernard often watched a native species of dolphins on Zadar IV when his father was stationed as an oceanographer there. (TNG: "When The Bough Breaks")

In an alternate timeline created when the USS Enterprise-C disappeared from the Battle of Narendra III, Cetacean Ops was a department aboard the warship USS Enterprise-D. Shortly after the Enterprise-C emerged from the temporal rift, Joshua Kim was paged to Cetacean Ops. (TNG: "Yesterday's Enterprise")

Dolphins were present aboard the Enterprise-D in some capacity. In 2368, Geordi La Forge took the Ferengi Par Lenor to see the dolphins in order to keep him from disturbing Kriosian Ambassador Briam. (TNG: "The Perfect Mate") The dolphins may have been in the aquatics lab. (TNG: "Genesis")

The USS Cerritos had a Cetacean Ops department, staffed by two Beluga whales, Matt and Kimolu. (LD: "First First Contact")

By 2380s, humpback whales served in Cetacean Ops aboard Federation starships both in the prime universe, as well as on Terran Imperial Starfleet ships in the mirror universe. (PRO: "Into the Breach, Part I", "Cracked Mirror")

So far, it has not been established when Humanity first became aware that the cetaceans of their homeworld (at least some of them) are sentient. At the latest, it should have happened during the whale probe incident depicted in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, set in 2286. However, the invention of the universal translator in the 22nd century could have already made Humans aware of the fact.

Cetaceans

Related topics

Appendices

Background information

The Star Trek: The Next Generation Technical Manual gives further information about the cetaceans aboard Galaxy-class starships, stating they (a mixed group of Bottlenose dolphins and Takaya's whales) are actually crewmembers and form a guidance and navigation consultation team. These cetaceans are elite specialists in navigation, and Starfleet consults them on suggested system upgrades. The USS Enterprise NCC-1701-D Blueprints also show several large cetacean tanks within the saucer section. The above above reference to dolphins in "The Perfect Mate" was written at the request of the manual's co-author Rick Sternbach. In the episode "We'll Always Have Paris", there was a turbolift door close to a holodeck entrance which was labeled Tursiops crew facility, which implied that dolphins were considered as crew aboard the Enterprise. ([1])

Apocrypha

The early concept art for the computer game Star Trek Online includes a sketch for an aquatics lab aboard a Galaxy-class starship, which may or may not be the one mentioned in the TNG episode "Genesis".

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