Because dolphins breathe atmospheric air, they cannot afford long periods of sleep underwater. They have adapted to aquatic life by taking 15-20 minute naps during which only one hemisphere of the brain sleeps. During this nap, the dolphin can swim, breathe and look out for danger. 1)
Dolphins use echolocation and this is how they find their way in the surrounding environment. By emitting high-frequency sounds, they listen for the echoes that come back to them and build a “map” of the space based on these sounds. They also use echolocation to find food and hunt. 2)
Dolphins hunt in packs and feed on fish, squid, and shellfish. 3)
Orcas are the largest natural enemies of dolphins. Although they themselves belong to the dolphin family, this does not stop them from hunting their smaller cousins. 4)
Dolphins communicate both verbally and non-verbally. They can communicate through their tail movements, the way they swim, or the way they strike certain poses. In addition, they have a rich language consisting of special high-frequency clicks and whistles. By means of sounds, they can inform each other of danger, show their emotional state or call younger, unruly dolphins to order. 5)
Because dolphins cannot breathe underwater, they must swim to the surface of the ocean to breathe. 6)
Depending on the species, most female dolphins carry their babies from 9 to 17 months. 7)
Dolphins do not use their 100 teeth to eat but to catch fish, which they then swallow whole. In fact, they do not have jaw muscles for chewing food. 8)
Dolphins are predators. Fish, squid, and crustaceans are on their prey list. A 130-kilogram dolphin eats about 16 kilograms of fish per day. 9)
It is believed that echolocation is an evolutionary process and that dolphins did not always have this ability. 10)
Dolphins are very social, living in groups that hunt and even play together. Large groups of dolphins can have a thousand or more members. 11)
A dolphin nurses is young for up to two years. The young stay with their mothers anywhere from three to eight years. 12)
“The Cove” is an Academy Award-winning documentary about dolphin treatment in Japan. It discusses cruelty to dolphins and the high risk of mercury poisoning from eating a dolphin. 13)
Dolphins have sharp eyesight both in and out of the water. They can hear frequencies 10 times higher than the upper limit of adult humans. 14)
Dolphins have no sense of smell. 15)