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Where they live : Oceans and rivers around the Earth
What they eat : Everything from small fish to Brobdingnagian heavyweight
Baby dolphins and their mothers don’t sleep for the first few weeks after birth to keep the calf safe.
How big they are : From 5 to 32 feet ( 1.5 to 10 meters ) long , depending on the specie
dolphin live in almost every sea , except most tend to avoid the cold water supply in the Arctic and around Antarctica . Some also subsist in rivers , including the Amazon River in South America and the Ganges River in India .
dolphin are technically classify as hulk , but are unlike from their larger first cousin in many ways . The largest dolphin species is the sea wolf , which measures upto 32 feet ( 9.8 m ) long , while the smallest species is the Hector ’s dolphinfish , whichgrows to only 4.8 feet ( 1.5 m ) long .
Baby dolphins and their mothers don’t sleep for the first few weeks after birth to keep the calf safe.
Dolphins live and hunt down in large social groups called pods , and they communicate with each other using high - toss clicks and whistles . They are very level-headed because they have to ferment together to hunt down prey .
Dolphins also bonk to play . you could often spot them channel-surf wave , flirt with seaweed , and even interacting with other species for fun . Some coinage can float incredibly tight , with the short - beaked vulgar dolphin hitting speeds ofup to 37 miles per hour ( 60 km / Planck’s constant ) — about as tight as a car driving on metropolis streets .
5 fast facts about dolphins
Everything you need to know about dolphins
What do dolphins eat?
Dolphins eat many types of nutrient , including fish , calamari , octopuses , turtles , shrimp and crab louse . bigger species , such as orcas , hunt and kill nautical mammalian , like seals , sea king of beasts and other dolphin coinage . They can even huntgreat white sharksandblue whales , the fully grown creatures on Earth . Most dolphins eatbetween 2 % and 10%of their trunk weight every Clarence Day .
As part of the " toothed whale " chemical group of animals , all dolphins have teeth , though some species have a lot more than others . Spinner dolphins have up to 240 teeth , while Risso ’s dolphinshave only 14 .
dolphin transmit out high - pitched sounds and listen for their echoes to build an image of their surroundings . This technique is do it as echolocation . They often hunt down in groups , work as a team to trap fish or other prey . One cagey hunt techniquedolphins use is call sweetener balling , in which a group of dolphins herds a school day of Pisces into a besotted ball , making it easy to snap up a quick repast . Groups of dolphins also squeeze fish into shallow water and then gobble them up . This hunt method acting is call corral .
(Image credit: Mike Hill via Getty Images)
Do dolphins sleep?
Dolphins sleep , but they do it in a very different path than humans do . These creatures sleep with only one-half of their brain at a fourth dimension , while the other one-half stays alive . This allows them to keep one eye open , which can ascertain for predators while half of their brain rests . Dolphins exchange which half of their genius is asleepevery few 60 minutes .
During this half - sleep , dolphins may rest near the control surface , be adrift motionlessly , or swim slowly . The awake half of their brainpower also controls their breathing . This is of import because dolphin do not have gill like fish do . rather , they must go to the water ’s surface to breathe . Unlike humans , who breathe automatically , dolphins must manually take a breath , meaning that if they last totally unconscious during sleep like we do , they would asphyxiate or drown .
to boot , this unusual type of nap also lets the dolphins keep run their muscle , which helps them rest warm in insensate water system .
(Image credit: Schafer & Hill via Getty Images)
Newborn dolphins and their mother do n’t catch some Z’s for thefirst few weeks after birth . Instead , the mother keep swimming so the calfskin can stay good and go forward breathing .
Are dolphins mammals?
Like humans , dogs , scamp and other furry land animals , dolphins are mammals . This means they are warm - blooded and remain cosy in the ocean water thanks to a level of adipose tissue hollo blubber . Along with other marine mammals — like whales , seals , sea lions and porpoises — dolphins must go to the aerofoil to breathe air through blowhole on the tops of their body . They hold their breath while swimming and hunt underwater . Whereas some giant coinage can stay underwater for several time of day , dolphin can hold their breath for only 10 to20 minutesbefore needing to come back up for air .
Like most other mammals , dolphins give parentage to live untested . Dolphins usually give birth to only one calf at a time . dolphinfish gestation last between10 and 18 months , depending on the species . The calf is push to the Earth’s surface immediately after birth so it can take its first breath .
The mother then eat the sura with her Milk River for two to three years . This milk is incredibly rich and fatty , which help the calf produce quickly . Calves then lento see from their mothers how to overtake Pisces . Young dolphins ride out with their female parent until they arearound 5 to 10years old , depending on the species . However , some sea wolf stay with theirmother ’s fuel pod for their entire lives .
(Image credit: Serge MELESAN / 500px via Getty Images)
Are dolphins dangerous?
Most dolphins are not concerned in set on humans , but they may act as sharply toward people in certain billet . Although dolphins are not commonly dangerous to mass , that does n’t have in mind humans should approach dolphins . They are ordinarily favorable , but wild dolphins are still hefty predators and may become aggressive if they feel threatened . Males , in picky , can be territorial and may show aggression toward other dolphins or even human .
In 2023 , awoman swim in a river in Bolivianeeded 32 stitches after pink river dolphins assail her , and several people were bruise in a serial ofdolphin attack off the slide of Japan . Even when they do n’t mean to be fast-growing , mahimahi can sometimes trifle rough , occasionally ramming or biting nearby humans .
Dolphins that are keep in captivity may become progressively aggressive due to stress , confinement or poor discussion . Several mass , including child , have been injure by dolphins while swimming with them in captivity . confined dolphins have also repeatedly aggress their trainer . In 2022 , for instance , a 23 - year - old dolphinfish endeavor to swim its trainer during a bouncy operation atMiami Seaquarium in 2022 .
(Image credit: Gerard Soury via Getty Images)
Orcas canalso become aggressivein captivity . In afamous case in 2010 , an orca at SeaWorld name Tilikum killed his flight simulator . However , orcasalmost never attackhumans in the wild .
Dolphin pictures
Bottlenose dolphinfish can grow up to 13 feet long and can live to 60 age old .
The Amazon river dolphinfish is the largest species of river dolphin . They are born dark grey , but turn pink as they maturate .
Orcas , or sea wolf hulk , are really a species of mahimahi . They are the largest mintage of the dolphin family and are apex predator of the sea .
(Image credit: Gerard Soury via Getty Images)
Irrawaddy dolphin are found in coastal areas and rivers in Southeast Asia . They generally live in shallow water and are never found more than a few miles from the seacoast .
Spinner dolphins are known from jump off from the water and spinning around . It ’s indecipherable exactly why they spin , but scientist think it could relate to communicating and having fun .
Dusky dolphins are found in coastal waters of the Southern Hemisphere . They have very short beaks and are a bluish - black vividness on their backbone and tails , with bloodless undersides .
(Image credit: by wildestanimal via Getty Images)
Discover more about dolphins
— The weird reason dolphins drink each other ’s pee
— look on a huge megapod of gymnastic spinster dolphins in unbelievable , rare video
— Orcas : fact about killer whales
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