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Dolphin Facts

Updated on April 26, 2008

Why We Should Learn Facts About Dolphins

There are many dolphin facts that are fascinating. Dolphins are extremely intelligent and curious creatures. Dolphin habitats and ways of life are becoming threatened more each day by humans. Hopefully some of these dolphin facts will help people understand why it is so important to protect these amazing creatures of the oceans.

Dolphin Fact - Dolphins Are Cute

Dolphin Facts About the Animal Species

First, dolphins are not fish. This is one of the most common dolphin facts many people don't know. Dolphins are mammals, just like humans. This means that dolphins give birth to live babies and that they produce milk to nurse their young. Dolphins are warm-blooded and have hair on their bodies when they are young. Dolphins are born with mustaches that eventually fade away. Dolphins also have lungs like humans. They must breathe air to survive. All of these dolphin facts classify dolphins as mammals, not fish.

Dolphins belong to the mammal order called Cetaceans. Whales also belong to this animal family. Most dolphins have sharp snouts and small, sharp teeth. Many people believe that porpoises and dolphins are the same, but they are not the same species. Porpoises have blunt snouts and differently shaped teeth.

Dolphin Facts About Physical Traits and Abilities

The average size of dolphins is about six to eight feet long. Male dolphins are larger than females, but not by much. The largest dolphin is actually known as a whale. Killer whales are about 20 feet long, and they are actually a type of dolphin. The smallest dolphin is the buffeo dolphin, which is about four feet long.

The average lifespan for dolphins is about twenty years.

The top swimming speed of a dolphin is a little faster than twenty miles per hour. The average dolphin swimming speeds are about five miles per hour.

As mentioned earlier, one of the interesting dolphin facts is that they possess lungs like humans, not gills like fish. Dolphins must surface to breathe. When dolphins surface, they breathe through their blowholes. Dolphins surface every couple of minutes to breathe. Even so, dolphins can dive under the water for about ten minutes at a time. Because of this, when dolphins swim underneath the ocean, they usually stay close to the surface. Dolphins usually don't dive very far. But dolphins have been known to dive more than 1,000 feet below the ocean's surface.

Interesting Dolphin Fact - Killer Whales Are Actually Dolphins

Facts About Dolphins Environments and Habits

Dolphins are found all around the world. The bottlenose dolphin is the most commonly recognized species and also has the widest range. Not all dolphin species are found in oceans. Some dolphins are found in rivers.

Dolphins are very social animals and travel in groups called pods. Pods are a family unit of dolphins. Pod sizes vary tremendously depending on the dolphin species. Pods can be as few as a half dozen or as large as over a thousand dolphins.

Dolphin Facts About Causes of Death

One of the saddest dolphin facts is that mankind is responsible for almost all fatal dolphin accidents. The most common ways that humans harm or kill dolphins is with fishing nets, especially tuna fishing nets and shark nets. Many people fish with dynamite. This illegal activity kills many dolphins each year. Accidents involving boats and because of sonar on ships also kills dolphins. Many dolphins die as a result of being captured for entertainment purposes such as theme parks and aquariums and for research. Pollution contributes to many dolphin deaths as well.

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