About Dolphins | Facts About Dolphins | What Do Dolphins Do
Fun Facts About Dolphins
Dolphins fascinates many people; their intelligence and
friendliness makes them endearing to humans. Warm-blooded,
dolphins are mammals that are found in almost every part of the world.
Among the various species, the Bottlenose dolphin is the most widely
distributed. They like shallow waters and can be found around
continental shelves. Some dolphins such as the Boto live in large river
system. It is believed that the ancestors of dolphins were actually land
animals, since they still retain certain land features such as they breathe
in air, and have remnants of their hind legs.
Dolphins Intelligence
How clever is dolphin ?
Some believe dolphins are more intelligent than dogs. Some believe
dolphins are as intelligent as elephants. They are able to solve simple and
complex problems. They perform very well when tested for their
problem-solving ability. With abstract abilities, they are able to tell the
difference between numbers.
The ratio of the brain size to an animals body is a very simple method of
analyzing its intelligence. Big brains in proportion to bodies imply
greater intelligence. This ratio in a dolphin is half of that a human. If we
exclude the weight of dolphins fatty blubber, this ratio is closer to
humans.
Ancestors of Dolphins | Evolution of Dolphins
Gene tests have shown that dolphins are related to the hippotamus.
Dolphins are believed to evolve from mammals that once lived on land.
One such terrestrial ancestor of dolphins is known as the Pakicetus. It
resembled the appearance of a wolf today. Some of the Pakicetus
remains have been discovered in Pakistan.
The early dolphins evolved and became fully aquatic around thirty-eight
million years ago. Two examples of such aquatic ancestors of dolphins
are Basilosaurus and Dorudon. They looked very similar to todays
dolphins and whales, but they did not have the melon organ that
enables todays dolphins to make sounds. They also have smaller brains,
liked to live alone and disliked socializing like todays dolphins.
Today, dolphins still retain some of the land-based animal features such
as breathing in air, possess traces of hind legs and unique composition of
spines that suggests that their ancestors ran on land and did not live in
water.
Dolphin Sound
Dolphins can be very noisy. They make nasal sounds from air sacs below
their blowholes. They make three main sounds: whistles, burst-pulse
sounds and clicks. They whistle and make burst-pulse sound to
communicate with other dolphins. They produce high-frequency clicks to
find their location or determine how far they are from objects in front of
them. This method is also known as echolocation or biosonar. It is the
ability to use echoes to locate object, where sonar waves are emitted,
reflected off by object and bounced back to them as an echo. The time
taken for the sound to travel from the animal to the object and back
again will determine the distance between the animal and object.
Echolocation also helps to determine the size of the animal.
Bats and whales also use echolocation to locate object and find their
way.
Clicks emitted by dolphins for echolocation are among the loudest
sounds made by any animal in the sea.
Dolphins Diet
Does dolphin drink seawater ?
Despite living in seawater, dolphin doesnt drink seawater. It is too salty
for them. Dolphins get their water from the food they eat. When fat is
burnt in their bodies, it releases the water needed by dolphins.
What do dolphins eat ?
Dolphins diet usually consists of fish, shrimp and squid. The amount of
food needed depends on their prey size. Adult Bottlenose dolphins eat as
much as 4 to 5 per cent of their body weight daily. Their stomachs have
different compartments to aid digestion. To take in the food with as little
seawater as possible, their throats have very strong sphincter muscle to
squeeze the seawater out before swallowing their food.
Dolphins like to eat fish such as herring, cod, sardines and mackerel.
What Do Dolphins Do ?
Dolphins are playful creatures. They like to leap and jump out of water,
performing acrobatics. This behaviour is called breaching. Many
scientists are fascinated by dolphins breaching behaviour. Some believe
that dolphins jump out of water to view prey from above the water, and
to look for signs such as feeding birds, which help to locate their prey.
This behaviour can also be a form of communication, a sign to other
dolphins to join in the hunt, showing which direction they are heading.
Another possible reason for dolphins to breach is to dislodge parasites
from their skin. Or perhaps they leap, jump and spin simply for fun!
They are also seen riding on waves created by boats or ships, a habit
developed probably from riding on swells create by whales or swimming
alongside their mothers as calves. They are also seen playing and tossing
seaweeds, carrying objects, mock fighting and chasing another dolphin.
They chase other creatures such as turtles or sea birds for fun as well.
A dolphin can jump as high as 4.9m (16.1 ft) from water.
Jumping high into the air and then falling on their backs or
sides is known as breaching.
Dolphins love to play and are often seen chasing each other.
Dolphin Assisted Therapy
Dolphins can be used for psychiatric treatment of people suffering from
depression and helpful in therapy of autistic and brain damaged
individuals. Such programs are known as Dolphin Assisted Therapy or
DAT. A study conducted in 2005 has shown that about 30 people
suffering from mild to moderate depression had positive effect on their
mood when having contact with dolphins.
Special needs, such as autistic children can play with dolphins weekly to
improve their social and communication behaviour. This DAT is already
in practice across the world to help autistic children who suffer from
neurological disorders. The activity of touching, playing, feeding and
communicating with dolphins are believed to help in enhancing the
autistic childrens speech and motor skills.
Click below for more information on:
Dolphin Assisted Therapy
About Wolphins
Wolphins are a hybrid, born of the False Killer Whale and Bottlenose
dolphin. Many hybrids are infertile; they cannot reproduce. Wolphins
are very rare in the wild. So far, only two wolphins exist in captivity in
the world, and they are both housed at Sea Life Park in Hawaii. They are
a pair of mother and daughter. Hybrids between different species of
dolphin have been spotted in the wild waters of Hawaii as well, such as
the Bottlenose-Atlantic Spotted dolphin and Wolphin, but very rare.
Copyright
The text and all images on this page, unless otherwise indicated, are owned by Ingenira who
hereby asserts her copyright on the material. Permission must be granted by the author in writing
prior to copy or republish this article in print or online. However, please feel free to copy the first
paragraph with a link back to this page. Thank you.
Ingenira
