Dolphin is an aquatic mammal. They are highly intelligent mammals that can live in water but breathe through the lungs just like we do. Dolphins have blowholes known as their nostrils present on the top of their heads.
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Dolphins
Dolphins belong to the phylum Chordata with infraorder Cetacea. Their whole life cycle and lifestyle depend upon water, and all the oceanic mammals belong to Cetacea.
Dolphins are close to humans in their communication skills and social behavior. There are many facts about dolphins that include their behavior similar to humans in many circumstances.
Talking about their body mass, Dolphins are usually 1.7 meters long and 50 kgs in weight. Male dolphins are, in general, sizable than females. Their body is streamlined shape with two flippers. Unlike seals, dolphins are less flexible.
Dolphins give easy natural birth to their babies. They have little room in the uterus for their baby to fully develop. Their tail fluke and dorsal are cartilaginous and have a fold-over uterus.
There are altogether 42 species of dolphins all around the world. The killer whale is known as the largest dolphin in the world. Hectors’ dolphins and Franciscans are the smallest ones.
Some dolphins like to live and spend their lives near coastal areas. Whereas some species of dolphins like shallow water located further out to sea. However, dolphins can reside in some rivers.
Dolphins Facts
Dolphins are titled as one of the most intelligent and social animals. Their behavior, friendly nature, and communication skills with humans are intriguing.
Let’s have a look at some of the amazing facts about dolphins.
1. They are available in different kinds of environments.
Various species of dolphins have been scattered all around the world in divergent types of environments. According to the species of dolphins, they choose their surroundings.
Altogether thirty-six species of dolphins live in marine water including, coastal, oceans, estuarine, and freshwater. They are present in temperatures less than 0 degrees to more than 30 degrees Celsius.
Bottlenose dolphins are widely present around west wales and the eastern Scotland of Britain. Scotland is home to most bottlenose dolphins and, they love to spend their life in Scotland.
On the other hand, the Amazon River is home to four species of Dolphins. Boto or pink river dolphins love to reside in the Amazon River.
These facts about dolphins explain their diversified adaptation to nature. Most of the species of animal kingdoms like to reside in a similar environment.
2. They are Social Mammals
The group of dolphins is known as pods. Dolphins live in pods of up to dozens of other individuals. They are highly social mammals, unlike other marine animals.
They are empathetic, social with the same species as well as with different species. They are active and love to stay with their families.
Each dolphin has a unique vocal pitch. Having different vocal tones is necessary as they move with the pods and identify who speaks or communicates.
Dolphins show cooperative and altruistic behavior and can work with humans as well. They communicate with the help of squeaks, clicks, and whistles.
3. They Nurse Their Young Ones With Care
Dolphins are warm-blooded animals and, they care for their babies as other mammals do. Mother dolphin gives birth to only a single baby at a time.
Mother dolphins nurture and take care of the calf and feed them with milk. They learn survival skills from their mother until they are six years old, which helps them in the future.
Dolphins get pregnant for 12 months, according to the research of bottlenose dolphins. They can give birth to babies every 1 t 6 years, depending upon the species of dolphins.
In case of some complication, the pregnant dolphin accompanied by another female dolphin helps deliver the calf and look after it for a certain time.
The way they tackle the problems and take responsibility are the surprising facts about dolphins.
4. Risks to Dolphins
According to the research, underwater noise pollution is one of the biggest threats to dolphins. There is an increment of marine traffic throughout the oceans around the world.
Noise pollution from the naval activity, gas and oil industry, seismic surveys, and underwater constructions can injure and stress dolphins and all the cetaceans.
The situation can severely affect the communicating, reproducing, navigating, and finding prey capability of dolphins. The circumstances can be fatal in the future.
Another threat can be human beings who have haunted dolphins for their meat and fats. They can get caught in fishing nets or traps. When dolphins get entangled in the net, they may face serious injuries.
Let’s not be ignorant and accept these facts about dolphins; we are responsible for destroying their habitat.
5. They are Fast
Dolphins are also known as fast sprinters. They are fast because of their tails. Dolphin’s tails are capable enough to thrust the speed through the water.
Their tails or flukes are more flexible than their bodies, enabling dolphins to maintain the highly efficient way of swimming overboard range of speed.
Dolphins can travel about two mph whereas, sometimes, they can reach speeds over 30mph. Killer whales, the largest dolphin, can travel 56 km/hr.
6. Dolphins Blow Their Bubbles
Most of the cetaceans like dolphins, humpback whales, beluga whales blow their bubbles. Sometimes, dolphins blow their bubbles as a part of sexual behavior.
They also sometimes blow bubble rings. They make bubble rings with the help of their tail using the reservoir of the air.
7. Hunting
They blow their bubbles to herd their prey to the surface during hunting. They use some hunting techniques like “fish-whacking,” using their tail to hit the fish and hunt them.
8. They Are Chatty Mammals
As mentioned above, dolphins use squawks, squeaks, clicks, whistles, and moan sounds while communicating. They can represent the acoustic activity of the animal kingdom.
They usually make whistling sounds from their blowholes to talk to other individuals underwater. They can make sounds anytime and make different voices in different depths of the water.
Dolphins also use their signature calls or whistles to introduce themselves to others. Their tone may vary accordingly in volume, wavelength, pattern, and frequency.
While speaking or chatting, the dolphin’s body becomes leaner. These facts about dolphins explain the talkative nature of these species.
9. They are Intelligent
Dolphins are as smart as we human beings. They have superior problem-solving skills and social skills.
Bottlenose dolphins are known as those species like humans and apes that can recognize themselves in the mirror. It is known as reflective intelligence.
Studies have shown that dolphins are good learners. They can pass their knowledge to others. Dolphins have also been documented using tools like other intelligent animals.
They have high brainpower than other animals. They can related and empathize with others and know how others are feeling. At one scale of brain function, dolphins can beat humans. Orca intelligence is extensively present in bottleneck dolphins.
These are some amazing facts about dolphins that may give you an insight into the mammal’s lifestyle and behavior. These are the reasons why dolphins are one of the most brilliant and expressive marine species.
