Top Facts about Dolphins
Most of us are not very familiar with dolphin facts, even though we like them very much.
Dolphin Information
This means that dolphin's ancestors lived in land at the beginning and then they evolved to adapt to the marine life.
While humans have interacted with dolphins for at least five thousand years, their major threat is still human kind. In the ocean, dolphins are apex predators and even though they have a few enemies, they do not have dangerous threats from marine animals
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Facts about Dolphins
Dolphins are mammals. Mothers nurse their calves with milk from them.
Dolphins belong to the cetacean order, the suborder odontoceti and they are classified in two families, marine dolphins and river dolphins.
There are 41 species of dolphins according to Wiki-Species, from them 36 are oceanic dolphins and five are river fresh water dolphins.
Dolphins live in pods of 10 to 12 individuals which group for protection and feeding forming a social structure.
Dolphins have very developed senses, although they do not have olfactory sense. However, the evolution gave them echolocation, a sonar-like sense used to locate food or dangers.
Dolphins breathe air as we do. To do it they use a blowhole located at the top of their bodies for easier access to the water surface, this hole take the air directly to their lungs.
Dolphins eat several kind of fish like mackerel, herring, cod or squid, looking mainly those with more fat to keep their body temperature.
Dolphin's gestation period ranges from 11 to 17 months varying according to species.
Bottlenose dolphins are the most common species of dolphins
Dolphin's biggest threat is human activity.
Dolphin Species and Classification
This suborder splits into two families:
Delphinidae, including all species of ocean dolphins, and
Platanistoidea, which groups the river dolphins
There are 36 species of dolphins belonging to the family Delphinidae living in the ocean and 5 species of dolphins living in rivers. This is about to change as the Chinese river dolphin is functionally extinct, meaning that only 4 species of dolphins in rivers remain.
The best known dolphin for us or the image that most of us have from dolphins in pictures, movies or television is the bottlenose dolphin. This species is also the one we can find trained in aquariums or sea parks like Sea World.
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Dolphin Intelligence
Scientific testing has proved that dolphins are capable to perform complex tasks and even solve problems creatively.
During observations in their natural habitat, dolphins have been watched using tools to perform tasks, like the well know case of dolphins in Australia using sponges to search for food at the bottom of the ocean to avoid abrasions to their skin.
Further research have suggested that dolphins are self-aware, and indicator of highly developed, abstract thinking. Although this is not corroborated, it could be a clear indicator of a higher step of intelligence.
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Dolphin Reproduction
For example, in the case of bottlenose dolphins the gestation period longs 12 months.
After this time of gestation calves are delivered by the mother with the help of another dolphin which takes the role of a midwife.
Calves are then nursed with milk from their mothers for a long period of up to 18 months, however they are not released after that, they stay with their mothers for up to six years to learn how to survive by themselves.
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Dolphin Communication
Although dolphin communication has been widely studied, there is still very little knowledge about the amount of information that is carried with every sound.
However, it is clear that some of those sounds are used to coordinate pods while feeding or improving the efficiency of the whole activity.
It is also believed that identity information is passed through some of these sounds when dolphins meet each other.
Besides, clicking sound is used as part of the echolocation process, a sonar-like technique used by dolphins and some other cetaceans to locate food or potential dangers.
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Dolphin Social Structure
The pod is the basic social structure in dolphin life. Within the pod, dolphins protect each other, reproduce and take care of their babies. Pods are also very important for feeding.
It is believed that dolphins can transmit learned skills from mothers to younger dolphins, denoting a cultural behavior, like the case described above when mothers teach their young how to use sponges to protect their mouths when searching for food, where the technique is not instinctive but taught by parents to calves.
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What do dolphins eat?
The amount of fish eaten varies according to the size of the species and the amount of fat contained by the fish, but the rule of thumb is that they consume between 5-10% of their body mass daily.
Making some calculations we can conclude that a 250 Kg. dolphin eats between 12.5 and 25 Kg of fish and as I said above, the amount will be conditioned by the kind of fish and the amount of fat they have, which is needed by dolphins to get the energy for living.
To hunt fish, dolphins use several techniques like the one where a pod of dolphins surround a school of fish to keep them as tight as possible, then dolphins take turns to dive through the compacted pod, feeding. This technique is called herding.
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Threats and Dangers to Dolphins
As incredible as it sounds, humans are the most dangerous predator for dolphins. Commercial fishing, destruction of dolphin habitats and environment pollution are the cause of thousands of dolphin deaths.
Even more, sound contamination is believed to produce negative effects and disorientation on dolphins.
Sympathizing with dolphins is not enough. While we probably are not able to reduce commercial activity, we can strengthen the laws to reduce dolphin slaughter as much as possible.
As individuals, knowing their incredible capabilities and characteristics will encourage all of us to take more care of them.
"Most of us are not very familiar with dolphin facts, even though we like them very much."
Interesting Link
Dolphins are cetaceans. This order of animals includes the aquatic mammals which are fully adapted to the life under the sea. They, like most cetaceans went back to the ocean from the land about fifty million years ago.Dolphins have interested humans for ages.Their friendly and intelligent behavior.
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- chloewhitelock1987 chloewhitelock1987 Sep 21, 2009 @ 7:24 am
- Great lens. I've given you a rating. If you get the time, give mine a look
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