Top 12 Facts about Dolphins. 1. Dolphins are mammals.

As all mammals, dolphins nurse their young from mammary glands.

2. Dolphins can swim up to 260 m. below the surface of the ocean.

However they are mainly shallow divers as they need to reach the surface to breathe.

3. Dolphins can stay up to 15 minutes under water.

They only do this some times as they usually stay only a few minutes diving before reaching the surface for air.

4. Dolphins use a technique called echolocation.

This technique uses the same principles of a radar, and it is used to find food and navigate.

5. Dolphins are social beings.

Dolphins live in groups and cooperate among each other for activities like getting food and calf rising.

6. Dolphins are Cetacenas.

There are 32 species of ocean dolphins and 5 species of river dolphins.

7. The largest dolphin is the Orca, also known as killer whale.

Orcas grow up to 6.1 meters long and they are named as whales because their size, but they really belong to the toothed cetacean family just like dolphins do.

8. The most popular dolphin is the bottlenose dolphin".

Bottlenose dolphins are the ones we have seen in tv series, movies and aquatic shows. Bottlenose dolphins can grow up to 2.5-2.8 meters.

9. Dolphins are warm-blooded.

As mammals, dolphins are warm blooded and their internal temperature is around 36 degrees. To conserve this temperature they are surrounded by a thick layer of fat called blubber just below the skin.

10. The botllenose dolphin brain weighs 1500-1600 grams.

While average human brain weighs 1200-1300 grs. This is not a conclusive evidence of dolphin intelligence as many other factors might be the cause of intelligence according to scientists.

11. Dolphins communicate efficiently.

Dolphins can make a unique signature whistle that may help individual dolphins recognize each other, collaborate and perform several other kinds of communication.

12. D olphins can swim 5 to 12 kilometers per hour.

This will depend on the species and situation, although fastest dolphins can reach up to 32 km/h.

Dolphin Anatomy
Dolphins may live in the ocean, but theyre mammals that have fully adapted over the years to live in water. There are several adaptations in dolphin anatomy that have been developed since these mammals returned from land to live in the ocean. Read more...

Dolpin Language
Dolphins are constantly making sounds of one of two kinds: communicative or navigational. Scientists even believe that they have greeting sounds which include some kind of identification encoded. Read more...

Dolphin Echolocation
Echolocation is a special technique found in dolphins that allow them to transmit a sound signal and interpret the information contained when the signal bouces back. It is very much the same principle of the sonar or radar and the signal bounced back, contains information about prey or dangers located at a distance far from sight. This great technique is one that has helped dolphins to survive in the ocean. Read more...

Dolphin Senses
Besides echolocation, dolphins have very developed senses which help them to survive. To start, good sight is needed to most activities they do, although some believe they are not very good in color identification. Besides an advanced hearing system to let them identify the large sort of sound they make is almost evident. Read more...

Dolphin Sounds and Accoustics

Dolphins produce a large sort of sound for communication, hunting and even mating. Chirping and squeaking noises made by dolphins are used to communicate between each other, to navigate by using echolocation, or to figure out where things are by bouncing sound off them. Also, sounds made by dolphins are sometimes used to stun or scare fish before catching them. Read more...

Dolphin Feeding
Since wild dolphins catch and eat their food underwater and research is expensive and often hard to do, most of the data regarding their feeding habits has come from analyzing the contents of the stomachs of dead animals that wash up on the beach.

Dolphin Predators
Dolphins are not chicken of the sea; yet it would appear that they make a tasty meal for many predators. And why not? With an exceptionally high fat content, dolphin and other cetacean meat provides great nutrition for predators who stalk, or swim stalkingly, throughout the ocean.

Dolphin Reproduction
Dolphins, like almost all mammals, give birth to live young, and nurse them with mammary glands, though it boggles the mind to imagine nursing underwater. But the birth of a dolphin starts long before his babyhood; it starts with how Mom and Dad first met.

Dolphin Social Life

Many researchers agree that dolphins extremely social creatures and actually seem to depend on this interaction while hunting, mating and defending themselves and their pods. Typically, dolphins live and travel in groups ranging from 2-40 dolphins. Research has also shown dolphin pods as large as several hundred members.

Dolphins Endangered
Although wild dolphins face many natural dangers within the deep expanse of the ocean, the most overwhelming threat to their existence is man.

Wild Dolphins
As Swim With The Dolphin (SWTD) programs and Dolphin Assisted Therapy (DAT) continue to gain popularity, we're seeing more and more dolphins being held in captivity than ever before. While some scientists claim that dolphin research is progressing in great strides, critics believe that holding wild dolphins captive is cruel and should be stopped.