The Fascinating World Of Dolphins

Since dolphins swim in the water many people think that they must be fish. However, dolphins are in fact warm-blooded mammals that breathe air and give birth to baby dolphins rather than lay eggs. This fact alone makes dolphins unique creatures, but they also have many more characteristics that make them one of the most interesting animals on the planet.

Dolphins and some whales are cetaceans and part of a whale group known as odontocetes. Basically this means that they all have teeth. Whales that don't have teeth to eat with are mysticetes. Dolphin teeth are cone-shaped, and it's these teeth that set them apart from other sea animals.

Dolphins live in tropical and warm waters. Many people are unaware of the fact that rivers and freshwaters are also home to few species of dolphins. These dolphins are however endangered and exist in very few numbers.

Almost 57 species of dolphins exist in the world. All dolphins have a lustrous body, which is very sleek. They have a typical long-beak like nose which is called the "rostrum". Very often, spectators tend to confuse between the porpoise and the dolphins. Both look similar in looks but are in fact different animals. The difference can be seen in their teeth. The porpoise have teeth shaped like spades for digging rocks, whereas the dolphins have teeth shaped like cones. One more main difference is that porpoises live in very cold water which cannot be tolerated by the dolphins.

Orcas are the most easily identified and best known dolphin. They are more commonly known as killer whales. People tend to think of the Orca as among the most violent and frightening sea animals. This is probably due to the fact that they are large and seem fearless in the water.

The female Dolphins are very caring mothers. To give birth to a young calf, the female dolphins have a very long gestation period. The female dolphins stay pregnant for 12 months to deliver one young baby. The baby calves on birth are approximately 30 inches long and weigh around 30 - 40 pounds. During the first two years of the life of the calf, the mother dolphin takes a lot of care and nurses the young one.

Unlike other species of animals where the mother gives birth and the young leave her side after a short period of time, the dolphin calf will stay with its mother for five to seven years. During this time the young dolphin will learn many skills from its mother, including how to feed and how to get along with other dolphins.

Dolphins live and move around in groups known as "pod". The males stay detached and do not take any interest in parenting. It is the females who rear the siblings and do all the nursing. The female does all the interaction with the calves and males do not involve themselves in community life other than impregnating the females.

Dolphins are amazingly intelligent and curious. These traits make them intriguing to us, along with the fact that dolphins love to interact with humans. They are always ready to tell us all about what's going on in the waters around us, but unfortunately we aren't able to understand them.

Article Source: http://www.ArticleSearchNet.com

About the author: Joshua Plansden is the your host at A Dolphins Fan, a fantastic website to visit when you are searching for the latest knowledge, accurate up to date advice and commentary about dolphins. For more articles on dolphins why not visit: www.adolphinsfan.com/articles
This article is available as a unique content article with free reprint rights.

Please Rate this Article

5 out of 54 out of 53 out of 52 out of 51 out of 5 

Not yet Rated