Inside the Fascinating World of Dolphins: All you need to Know
There is so much to know about these beautiful aquatic beings. Read more to discover many unknown and exciting aspects of dolphins.
Dolphins are fascinating creatures. They are fun, friendly and undoubtedly intelligent sea animals. We have often seen them on TV, zoos, water shoes and also in animation. Besides their impressive tricks and playfulness, there is so much that we should know about these amicable cetaceans.
Dolphins are expert in napping. Given the fact that they cannot breathe underwater and need to come on the surface for their oxygen requirement, their sleep would disrupt the cycle, causing them to drown. To avoid the situation, they have acquired mastery over the skill of power napping. They switch one side of their brain off for 15-20 minutes and perform functions like breathing, swimming etc. with the other half of the brain. Dolphins take such naps several times during the day to keep themselves rejuvenated. Smart. Isn’t it?
There are over 36 species of marine dolphins known to us. They thrive across different environments around the world in temperatures ranging from zero degrees to 30 degrees. Dolphins are found in coastal areas, deep oceans and even in freshwaters. Out of these, bottlenose dolphins are the most recognizable type out of others.
Just like human beings, dolphins are quite chatty with each other. They peculiarly communicate through vocalizing in the form of whistles, squeals, moans, cries, whimpers, squawks. The existence of a coded communicable system within the animals and especially dolphins has been a moot point within ocean scientists who are continuously trying to work on an algorithm to prove a set language pattern within dolphins.
Scientists have found that dolphins possess a remarkable intelligence as compared to other marine creatures. Just like apes, orangutans and human beings, they are aware of themselves. It has been proved by their ability to recognize themselves in the mirror. Also, dolphins are known to make use of tools while foraging for food. These traits are enough proof to establish that they sit high up on their intelligence quotient.
Dolphins are known to be friendly, not just with human beings but with their kind too. They live in a group known as pods, which can have several to hundreds of dolphins staying together in a habitat rich in the food supply. However, they like the company of their friends with whom they spend most of the time rather than paying an equal amount of time with everyone. They divide themselves into social groups to ‘hang-out’ with each other.
If you learned something new about dolphins today, do share it with your folks and spread the knowledge.
