Many scientists are inclined to believe that dolphins are intelligent creatures that have been developing in parallel with humanity since the appearance of life on the planet. They have their own language and hierarchy, their brain activity is strikingly different from that of all other animals and fish and cannot be fully studied. Experiments conducted with the participation of these creatures usually baffle researchers, since they cannot form a definite opinion about the level of intelligence of dolphins. Of course, they are very smart and hide secrets that humanity will study for a long time. That is why interesting facts about dolphins never cease to amaze not only children, but also adults.
Who are dolphins?
First of all, it must be said that dolphins are not fish, despite the fact that they live in water. These creatures are mammals and viviparous, just like all inhabitants of the animal world. In this case, the female gives birth to only one baby, and not many. And the mother bears her child from ten to eighteen months. The name of the animal, which dates back to the ancient Greek language, is translated as “newborn baby.” What this is connected with is now difficult to determine. Perhaps dolphins received this name for their piercing cry, similar to the cry of a child, or perhaps for their resemblance to a human fetus in the womb.
The most amazing facts about dolphins prove their close proximity to humans. These animals swim very quickly, so they often compete in speed with ships and have fun by jumping out of the water and seeming to smile at people looking at them. There are known facts of human rescue by dolphins.
Pregnancy lasts 10-18 months
Dolphins live about 20-30 years, but their gestation period is longer than that of humans. They bear babies for 10-18 months . They can be born small, up to 50-60 cm, or larger. When a dolphin is about to give birth, it begins to move, arching its tail and back. Other dolphins surround her in a tight ring, trying to help and protect her.
As soon as the baby is born, he is pushed upward so that his lungs expand and he can take in air. He recognizes his mother by her voice, because... She starts whistling immediately after giving birth, 10 times more often than usual.
In the first few months, an adult dolphin does not leave its baby; if it is hungry, the baby begins to cry, just like in humans. All mammal babies sleep a lot in the first months after birth. But not dolphins.
At first, the little dolphin does not know what sleep is at all; he begins to sleep only 2 months after birth. For the first year of his life, the baby lives next to his mother, who not only feeds him, but also educates him and punishes him if he does not obey. Then the mother begins to teach him how to get food and communicate. The dolphin grows in a female herd, while the males live separately. One mother can have 7-8 cubs, or only 2-3.
Oceanic beauty - bottlenose dolphin
The bottlenose dolphin, interesting facts about which never cease to amaze the world, is the kindest and most sympathetic creature on the planet. They live in the warm waters of the world's oceans. The bottlenose dolphin's diet consists of fish, squid and small inhabitants of the ocean depths.
The bottlenose dolphin, interesting facts about which history knows, is a very compassionate creature. An indicative case occurred in New Zealand in 2004. A hundred meters from the shore, four rescuers were attacked by a white shark. A school of bottlenose dolphins protected people for forty minutes from a predator that sensed its prey. There is no explanation for this fact of kindness and compassion on the part of animals.
Interesting facts about dolphins are varied. One of them says that bottlenose dolphins have a brain volume of one thousand five hundred milligrams. According to scientists' research, each dolphin has its own name, which its relatives call it. All of them produce peculiar sounds that are difficult for the human ear to catch, but in its environment one individual differs from another precisely in its peculiar timbre and manner of communication.
Main types
Children become interested in the world around them from an early age. An interesting message about a dolphin will allow you to immerse yourself in the amazing underwater world. Together with your child, you can go on an excursion to the dolphinarium, where the staff will even offer to swim with the animal.
There are several species of mammals:
- white-bellied;
- large-toothed;
- bottlenose dolphins;
- Chinese;
- orcas.
White-bellied dolphins, which are on the verge of extinction, are found near Chile. They have gray skin with a white patch on the belly. Mammals grow up to 2 m in length. The largetooth species lives in the Caribbean Sea and bays near North America. Their gray body is covered with white spots, and their distinctive feature is their rather large teeth.
Bottlenose dolphins prefer the waters of the Pacific Ocean; it is this species that gets along with humans. Animals are caught and placed in fresh water bodies and used for therapy. Chinese dolphins, living in the Asian seas, off the coast of Africa and Australia, differ from their other counterparts. Their color changes several times throughout their lives. They are born black, then turn gray. Adults are white, and in old age they become covered with pinkish skin.
Killer whales are the largest representatives of the family, they grow up to 10 m and 10 tons. They have a massive black body with white spots around the eyes and the same belly. Animals are found in all warm seas and oceans.
Coastal white-beaked dolphin
White-faced dolphins are inhabitants of temperate waters. They mainly live in the coastal zone and feed on bottom-dwelling fish. Most often they are found off the coast of Norway, where fishing for dolphins of this species is open.
The white-faced dolphin is unique; interesting facts about it are very common. The motives of this species of individuals that force the animals to wash ashore are unclear. Despite the fact that they can breathe oxygen, water is vital for them, since the surface of the skin must not be allowed to dry out. Scientists hypothesize that white-beaked dolphins wash ashore due to infections and diseases that plague them. But this, like everything related to dolphins, requires deep and detailed research.
How long do dolphins live - in the wild or in captivity?
Dolphins are considered long-lived. Possessing an unusual body structure and body characteristics that allow them to correctly distribute resources, they can live from 25 to 50 years. Moreover, this applies to most species, but there are also those who can compete with humans in terms of average life expectancy. For example, male killer whales live on average 55 years, and females live on average 85 years.
Killer whales are the longest-living dolphins
For dolphins in captivity, things are much worse. Individuals trapped in dolphinariums or other artificial reservoirs can survive only 10 years. This is due to unnatural environmental conditions, disrupted feeding cycles, limited space and simple stress to which the animal is exposed, due to which it cannot rest properly.
Interesting fact : the record holder for longevity in a confined space is Moby the dolphin. He lived for 58 years, and he spent only 10 in the wild. The remaining 48 years he spent in the dolphinarium.
Nowadays, humanity is actively raising questions regarding the keeping of dolphins in captivity. It is not difficult to guess that in the seas and oceans mammals could live several times longer than in captivity. Because of this, new artificial reservoirs are being designed to improve the habitat for dolphins and make it more natural. Environmental companies are also developing special programs and equipment to track dolphins in the wild and help them if necessary.
Dolphin and man
Interesting facts about dolphins say that they are smarter than any person on the planet. As already mentioned, the brain of these creatures can reach a weight of 1700 mg, while in humans it is 1400 mg. In addition, compared to humans, dolphins have significantly more convolutions in the cerebral cortex. Interesting facts (for children) about these creatures help develop in the younger generation a desire to learn more about our smaller brothers.
Dolphins have a “lexicon” of fourteen thousand signals, which are pronounced with different intonations and unique voices. Animal psychologists claim that dolphins have quite developed self-awareness and social consciousness. Since they live in a collective, its problems are not alien to each individual. If a sick or weak dolphin appears in a family, then all its relatives help it and push it to the surface, giving it the opportunity to take a breath of fresh air. Some people should learn compassion from these noble animals.
Dolphin tongue
The category “The most interesting facts about dolphins” includes their ability to communicate with each other and detect prey. Researchers have discovered that these creatures have their own sounds for different life situations, and they are divided into sonar and communicative. Sonar signals are used to detect prey, and communication signals are used to communicate within the family.
Ordinary human hearing is unable to catch the dolphin call. People perceive sounds up to twenty kilohertz, and dolphins emit signals at a frequency of up to two hundred kilohertz.
Scientists have found that in the speech of animals there are more than one hundred and eighty different whistles. Dolphin sounds form syllables, words and even phrases. And representatives from different regions each whistle in their own dialect.
American scientists have created a device with which they are trying to recognize the meaning of dolphin signals.
Not long ago it was found that the ultrasound emitted by dolphins has a beneficial effect on human health and even helps in the treatment of certain diseases.
All the most interesting things about dolphins
It's safe to say that dolphins are the most unusual creatures on the planet. Here are 10 interesting facts about dolphins.
- The ancient Greeks revered the dolphin as a deity and gave it the name “sacred fish.” The statue of Apollo at Delphi bore the image of this animal.
- The Romans placed dolphin figurines in the hands of the dead during burial. According to legend, they were supposed to accompany a person to the afterlife.
- Dolphin figurines were found in the Jordan desert. It is surprising that this country is located far from the habitat of animals.
- Dolphins have teeth, but do not use them to chew because their jaws are not overgrown with muscles.
- These animals understand human speech if they communicate directly with people. They can remember up to sixty words.
- If a dolphin has one tablespoon of water in its lungs, it will die. In this case, a land dweller, a person, dies from two tablespoons of water.
- Female dolphins help each other give birth to their offspring. All other relatives provide protection at this time.
- Dolphins do not smell, but they do have taste buds, so they may be offended by a gift of chili peppers and grateful for candy.
- A dolphin weighing one hundred and twenty kilograms needs to eat thirty-three kilograms of fish a day, while the animals do not gain weight or become obese.
- Dolphins help fishermen fish. They tell you when there are a lot of fish in the nets and it’s time to pull them out.
All interesting facts about dolphins are associated with their unique abilities and talents, as well as with the “human” characteristics of the species.
Relationships with people
In a story about dolphins, you can briefly talk about their relationship with people. Animals have long occupied a certain niche in human life. Biologists have been studying mammals for decades and trying to establish contact with them.
Dolphins are easy to train. They can be found in different establishments:
- circuses;
- aquariums;
- water parks;
- swimming pools;
- sanatoriums;
- hospitals.
Mammals can act as mentors while swimming. Water procedures with it are useful for children with neuralgic disorders. Animals make kids feel more confident.
The species most often found in medicine and water parks is the bottlenose dolphin, as it is more trainable than others. These dolphins star in films, swim with people in sanatoriums, and perform in water circuses and aquariums.
Mammals have high intelligence and good character. There are cases when they sailed to shipwrecks and pulled injured people to the shore. And as assistants in water therapy, animals help pregnant women and children with impaired coordination of movements perform various exercises.
