Dolphin Facts
Dolphin Facts You Should Know
The following dolphin facts are offered in the hopes of giving you a clearer picture of one the favorites of the wild animal kingdom. The dolphin of course is not a fish, but like the whale, is a mammal. It is warm blooded, giving live birth, and nurses its young. Dolphins are present in every ocean in the world, and some species are found in rivers as well.
Dolphin facts at times have been a bit inaccurate. Because of their acrobatics, their tendency to accompany ships in open waters, and their seemingly playful nature, we have a tendency to anthropomorphizing them, looking upon them almost as seagoing, fun-loving, humans. The fact that they are intelligent is beyond doubt, but just how intelligent remains an unknown. Dolphins do tend to be quick learners, and at times show a definite ability to figure things out for themselves. While their brain size, in relation to their body size, approximates that of the primates, it appears that much of the dolphin's brain is devoted to processing acoustic information. Like bats, dolphins rely on echolocation to find their food. They also communicate though a variety of sounds.
There are 37 known species of dolphins of which 5 are river dwellers. The largest species is the Killer Whale, while the most abundant species is the Bottlenose dolphin. If you've been to an amusement park where trained dolphins are a part of the entertainment, chances are they are Bottlenose dolphins. That is more than likely also the case if you've watched them escort a large boat or cruise ship through ocean waters. Being the most numerous of the different species, the Bottlenose has been studied the most, and consequently more is known about it, although our knowledge about the Killer Whale is also quite substantial.
Here are a few dolphin facts about their day-to-day life. The Bottlenose dolphin grows to a length of 6 to 7 feet, occasionally larger. The species has a fairly long life span, averaging just under 20 years, while some have been known to live more than twice that long. Dolphins have been known to dive to depths of nearly 1,000 feet, but seldom do, and spend most of their lives at rather shallow depths. If they do go deep, some can hold their breath for half an hour, though for some species that time is much less. A dolphin can swim about 3 times as fast as a human and leap nearly 3 times as high.
Dolphins are extremely social creatures, cooperating with, and helping one another. They appear to socialize well with humans also, and many people have had the experience of swimming with dolphins. While not subject to actual attacks, people have been painfully bumped and at times bitten, forgetting that these seemingly friendly mammals are still wild animals, and therefore at times can be unpredictable in their behavior. A typical list of dolphin facts doesn't often emphasize this, and probably should. Still, the dolphin is, and likely always will be, an intriguing and much-loved creature.