Facts on Dolphins That You Should Know

Dolphins are marine mammals that are closely related to whales and porpoises. There are almost forty species of dolphin in seventeen genera. They vary in size from 1.2 m (4 ft) and 40 kg (90 lb) (Maui's Dolphin), up to 9.5 m (30 ft) and 10 tons (9.8 LT; 11 ST) (the Orca or Killer Whale). They are found worldwide, mostly in the shallower seas of the continental shelves, and are carnivores, mostly eating fish and squid. The family Delphinidae is the largest in the Cetacea. Dolphins are considered to be amongst the most intelligent of animals and their often-friendly appearance and seemingly playful attitude have made them popular in human culture.

Some other very interesting facts are the anatomy of the dolphins. Dolphins have a streamlined fusiform body, adapted for fast swimming. The tail fin, called the fluke, is used for propulsion, while the pectoral fins together with the entire tail section provide directional control. The dorsal fin, in those species that have one, provides stability while swimming. Though it varies per species, basic coloration patterns are shades of gray usually with a lighter underside. It is often combined with lines and patches of different hue and contrast. The head contains the melon, a round organ used for echolocation. In many species, the jaws are elongated, forming a distinct beak; for some species like the Bottlenose, there is a curved mouth, which looks like a fixed smile. Teeth can be very numerous (up to two hundred and fifty) in several species. Dolphins breathe through a blowhole located on top of their head, with the trachea being anterior to the brain. The dolphin brain is large and highly complex and is different in structure from most land mammals. Unlike most mammals, dolphins do not have hair, but they are born with a few hairs around the tip of their rostrum which they lose shortly after birth, in some cases even before they are born. The only exception to this is the Boto river dolphin, which does have some small hairs on the rostrum. Overall the complexity of the dolphin anatomy is impressive to an extent, but not nearly as impressive as the next topic we are about to touch on.

Facts about Dolphins

The Social behavior and intelligence of dolphins, without a doubt the most controversial subject when referring to dolphins. It is quite scary how similar these creatures act to humans in respect to love, feelings, emotions, sensations, habits, traits, honor, pride, aggression, war, distrust, betrayals, drama, the list simply goes on and on. Even the use of tool sand the concept of society has been mastered by the dolphins, which is astounding considering that some primitive civilizations in the past could not fully grasp these same ideas. Dolphins are social living in complex attachments, known as "schools" of up to a dozen individuals. In places with a high abundance of food, pods can join temporarily, forming an aggregation called a super pod; such groupings may exceed a thousand dolphins. The individuals communicate using a variety of clicks, whistles and other vocalizations. They also use ultrasonic sounds for echolocation. Membership in pods is not rigid; interchange is common. However, the cetaceans can establish strong bonds between each other. This leads to them staying with injured or ill individuals, even actively helping them to breathe by bringing them to the surface if needed. This altruistic behavior does not appear to be limited to their own species. A dolphin in New Zealand that goes by the name of Moko has been observed to seemingly help guide a female Pygmy Sperm Whale together with her calf out of shallow water where they had stranded several times. They have also been known to seemingly protect swimmers from sharks by the dolphin swimming circles around the swimmers or charging the sharks to make them go away, this find has baffled the scientific community, because it proves that the dolphin may believe it has self worth or value, an essence, another way you could put it is it may believe it has a soul, this is proven by its instinctual compassion to take care of its own kind, although these acts can be found in other creatures, the main difference here is that those creatures usually feel that way only for a short amount of time after which they care little for the outcome, a simple example is the mother hen and her chicks, at the beginning she is extremely dedicated to take care of her chicks and make sure they are strong and healthy to go out into the world, but after a certain point once they have developed research actually shows a break in the link of care between the mother and her children, another way to phrase it, she has done her job and now they are on their own.

Another section dedicated to the social behavior of dolphins is the cultural aspect. dolphins show cultural behavior, something long believed to be a quality unique to humans. In May 2005, a discovery was made in Australia, which shows this cultural aspect of dolphin behavior: Some dolphins, such as the Indo-Pacific Bottlenose Dolphin teach their young to use tools. The dolphins break sponges off and cover their snouts with them thus protecting their snouts while foraging. This knowledge of how to use a tool is mostly transferred from mothers to daughters, unlike simian primates, where the knowledge is generally passed on to both sexes. The technology to use sponges as mouth protection is not genetically inherited but a taught behavior. Another such behavior was discovered amongst river dolphins in Brazil, where some male dolphins apparently use objects such as weeds and sticks as part of a sexual display.

Dolphins are also known to engage in acts of aggression towards each other. The older a male dolphin is, the more likely his body is covered with scars ranging in depth from teeth marks made by other dolphins. It is suggested that male dolphins engage in such acts of aggression for the same reasons as humans: disputes between companions or even competition for other females. Acts of aggression can become so intense that targeted dolphins are known to go into exile, leaving their communities as a result of losing a fight with other dolphins. Scientists speculate just as in human nature when the superior alpha male triumphs over the lesser male competitor for the female counterpart, a certain level of rejection and loss of self worth accrues in the loser of the fight, and as a result either stays away from the mix or Male Bottlenose Dolphins have been known to engage in infanticide. Dolphins have also been known to kill porpoises for reasons, which are not fully understood, as porpoises generally do not share the same fish diet as dolphins and are therefore not competitors for food supplies. This concept is also astonishing because it shows another similar side to humans and that is the simple act of aggression. We see it in dogs as well when they see a stray cat or something they simply don’t like, they will begin to growl. This is either because they feel threatened or they feel unsafe. This same concept is applied with the dolphin, while not an extremely territorial creature, the dolphin has an unusually high awareness of its surroundings, and that coupled with great speed and instinct can be deadly for lesser sea creatures that cross their path. This same concept is seem in humans, a prime example to show blatant unrehearsed aggression is middle school, there is always that 1 kid who tries to take advantage of the situation because of his greater size and power. He reigns havoc on the weaker kids, taking lunch money and abusing to his delight, there is no reason for this, he does it simply because he can and to establish dominance, clearly a human characteristic.

In conclusion the dolphin is one of the most illustrious and complex mammals to study, their intelligence and sophistication is really not that far off from our own, they are aware of all the basic feelings and emotions that we possess, and they respond accordingly in the right manner. They are fully integrated into a niche , a habitat, a society, where they coexist for the most part, in the relative peace, as do we. They use tools and pass on traits and habits to their children as do we, they look out for one another and are concerned with the injured of their own and other creatures, as are we. They understand and communicate with combinations of clicks and sonar to orient themselves and talk to each other as do we use the English language and the use of radar to communicate ideas and locations more effectively. In short they are a mystery of nature, how any animal could possess so much in common to us is astounding, some would go as far as say they are on par with the orangutan and other primates that display a lot of similar human traits and characteristics. We will always wonder about the majesty, and mystery of the dolphin, and we are still learning a great deal about them, only time will reveal the unknown and push our knowledge and understanding of these creatures to new heights.