Sea Creature Spotlight: Dolphins

Atlantic Spotted Dolphin (image source)

Sea Creature Spotlight: Dolphins

This sea creature spotlight is all about dolphins! I do not know a person around who doesn't love dolphins. I am not sure if it's because of the way they can majestically leap out of the water, the way they look like they are smiling, the cute noises they make or the fact that they are so intelligent, but whatever reason, dolphins are definitely a favorite ocean creature for many.

A HUGE Family Tree!

 There are 44 species of dolphins. Here is a look at the names of all the different species:

• Killer Whale
• Common Bottlenose Dolphin
• Baiji 
• Amazon River Dolphin
• Chinese White Dolphin
• Risso's Dolphin
• Striped Dolphin
• Short-Beaked Common Dolphin
• Pacific White-Sided Dolphin
• Irrawaddy Dolphin
• False Killer Whale
• Spinner Dolphin 
• Tucuxi
• Short-Finned Pilot Whale
• Commerson's dolphin
• Pantropical Spotted Dolphin
• Long-Finned Pilot Whale
• Indo-Pacific Bottlenose Dolphin
• Hector's Dolphin
• Atlantic Spotted Dolphin
• South Asian River Dolphin
• White-Beaked Dolphin
• Dusky Dolphin
• Rough-Toothed Dolphin
• Hourglass Dolphin
• La Plata Dolphin
• Atlantic White-Sided Dolphin
• Long-Beaked Common Dolphin
• Melon-headed Whale
• Fraser's Dolphin
• Pygmy Killer Whale
• Northern White Whale Dolphin
• Guiana Dolphin
• Chilean Dolphin
• Australian Snubfin Dolphin
• Southern Right Whale Dolphin
• Indus River Dolphin
• Heaviside's Dolphin
• Peale's Dolphin
• Clymene Dolphin
• Burranan Dolphin
• Bolvian River Dolphin
• Arguainan River Dophin
• Austrolodelphis
• Ornico River Dolphin

And you thought you had a lot of relatives!                                                       

Social Butterflies 

Dolphins are very social! They live in groups that hunt and even play together. Large pods of dolphins can have 1,000 members or more!

Einstein's of the Ocean?

Dolphins are really intelligent. They show compassion and empathy by their actions and their brains are quite large. Their brain size compared to their body size is actually second only to humans.

What's for Dinner?

Dolphins are carnivores and depending on the species, eat a wide variety of things such as fish, squid and crustaceans.

Nothing Wrong with Being Mommy's Baby

A mother dolphin carries her baby from 9 to 17 months (it depends on the type of dolphin) and momma's duties do not end once she has her baby. Dolphins have been observed nestling and cuddling their babies. Calves can even stay with their moms up to 8 years!

I Need Air!

Dolphins are mammals and because of that need to come to the surface to breathe air. Dolphins do not breathe through their mouths or noses ike you or me though, they use their blow holes to take in air.

source: https://www.seewinter.com

Muse for Creative Minds

Over the years there have been many books, movies and even a TV show made about dolphins. One of my favorite stories, Dolphin Tale, is based on a real-life dolphin, Winter. Back a couple of years ago, my family traveled down to Clearwater Marine Aquarium so we could meet Winter (& Hope) and to check out the amazing rescue efforts and work that they do. We hope to return this upcoming spring so that I can donate the money I (hopefully) raise from my Passion Project.

Check out how tiny I was a few years back...

Fins are Fantastic!

Besides having fun seeing Hope & Winter at Clearwater Marine Aquarium, I also learned quite a bit on my trip. One of the things we did was take a boat ride on which we learned how to sample water quality, talked about what 'brackish' water (slightly salty water) is and we learned how scientist use dolphin fins to identify dolphins. Did you know that they can use things such as nicks, spots and marks on dorsal fins and tail fins, as well as the overall shape and size of fins, to identify animals in an area? It was really fun seeing if we could find dolphins!

I hope you have enjoyed this Sea Creature Spotlight! Thanks for swimming by!!