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ANIMAL OF THIS MONTH – DOLPHIN

 

Hello Kids, Our animal of this month is “Dolphin”. Lets learn some interesting facts about this water animal.

Pacific White Sided Dolphin – Image source : Wikipedia PD

Common Name :  Dolphine              Family : Delphinidae

Zoological Name : Delphinus capensis

Habitats : Oceans and rivers

Height and Weight : Minimus weight : 50 kg. Killer Whales, from the Dolphin family weights upto 1o000 kg.  Length : 1.5 m to 9.5 m based on sub group families.

Life Span : 20 – 50 years

Fresco of Dolphin – Source : Wilipedia PD 1600 BC

What are the special features of Dolphins?   More than 40 different species of dolphins are there and each species has its unique physical structures and characteristics. As a common thing, Dolphins are known for their intelligence, playful behavior and human friendly nature. They could swim at a speed of 55km/h. These marine mammals have stream lined bodies. They feed on fishes and squids, but the big species like Killer whale of Dolphin family could eat other mammals like seals too. Their conical shaped teeth help them to catch their prey and they won’t use their teeth to chew the food, they swallow their food.  They have a thick layer called blubber under the skin to store fat, that helps them to keep their body warm in cold waters.

Where are they found? Dolphins like to live in the seas on tropic zones. They live in rivers too. Mostly they could be found in the seas except Arctic and Antarctic oceans.

Dolphin family – A mother and a Calf           Image Souce : Wiki PD Do they live in groups ? How do they communicate? Actually, Dolphins are social animals and they live in groups called schools or pods which may have hundreds of dolphins. The members of the pods have good social bond between them and they help each other when required. Pod members work together to catch their prey. Some of the pod members surround the school of fish and the other will feed on the stunned fishes. Dolphins are known for the effective communication between them. They make special sounds like whistles, clicks and whines for communication and finding their prey. From their organ called melon, dolphins create the click sound which is used for echolocation. Dolphins could get the echo sound of the clicks, from the objects near by, through which they could identify the position of the objects or animals near them.  In a group, mothers take the responsibility to raise their young ones.

Porpoising dolphins Do they have any special behaviors? Yes. Dolphins are playful animals and they like to jump and play. They jump out of the water to get air at different intervals. Actually, when traveling they jump out of the water, to save energy and this behavior is called as porpoising. Bow-riding is another behavior found in Dolphins. This travel technique followed by these marine animals help them to swim easily by following the bow wave created by ships and boats.

Are they really human friendly? Yes. Dolphins are considered as human-friendly animals and many reports have proved that. In New Zealand,  a group of swimmers have been saved from shark attack as some of the dolphins keep the predator away from these people. They have guarded them from a distance until they reach the shore. Another incident from Italy claims that a teenage boy was helped by a dolphin to come out of the water when he accidentally fell off from his boat. Thus, many incidents prove that they are harmless to humans.

Do they have enemies? Excepts humans, dolphins have no fearful enemies and they have been hunted for meat. Occasionally, some large sized sea animals such as killer whales will feed on other small dolphins too. As a conservation activity, some countries (Costo-rika, Chile, Hungary and India) have banned the capture of dolphins and to use them in live shows.