Each dolphin in the ocean has its own name, to which it responds when called by relatives. He receives it as soon as he is born, and it is a characteristic whistle lasting 0.9 seconds. Dolphins not only call each other by name, but also introduce themselves when meeting strangers. And to identify a relative by voice, without seeing him, is a couple of trifles for them.

Dolphins are mammals from the family of toothed whales of the cetacean order. There are about forty species of these animals on the planet, and you can see them anywhere in the oceans. Most dolphins prefer to live in tropical and subtropical latitudes, but there are those who like colder waters, so they can be seen close to the Arctic, and some species are found both there and there. For example, although white-faced dolphin lives mainly in the North Atlantic, it can often be seen off the coast of Turkey.

Most members of the family (for example, bottlenose dolphins, white-faced dolphin) are marine inhabitants, but there are four species that prefer to live in fresh river or lake water. The river dolphin lives in Asia, as well as in the waters of the South American rivers of the Amazon and Orinoco.

Unfortunately, if earlier representatives of this family met often, now the river dolphin due to habitat loss, pollution environment, reducing the amount of food and small populations has practically disappeared and is listed in the Red Book.

Description

The length of dolphins ranges from one and a half to ten meters. The smallest dolphin in the world is Maui, which lives near New Zealand: the length of the female does not exceed 1.7 meters. A large inhabitant of the deep sea is considered to be a white-faced dolphin about three meters long. The largest representative is the killer whale: the length of males reaches ten meters.

It is worth noting that males are usually ten to twenty centimeters longer than females (the exception is killer whales - here the difference is about two meters). They weigh on average from one hundred and fifty to three hundred kilograms, killer whale - about a ton.

The back of sea dolphins is gray, blue, dark brown, black and even pink (albino) colors. The front of the head can be either solid or white (for example, a white-faced dolphin has a white beak and front of the forehead).

In some species, the mouth is rounded in front, the beak-shaped mouth is absent. In others, small sizes, the head ends in an elongated mouth in the form of a flattened “beak”, and the mouth is shaped so that people watching them seem to be always smiling, and therefore they often have an irresistible desire to swim with dolphins. At the same time, even a huge number of teeth of the same cone-shaped shape does not spoil the impression - dolphins have about two hundred of them.

Due to the elongated body and smooth, elastic skin, these animals almost do not feel water resistance during movement. Thanks to this, they are able to move very quickly (the average speed of a dolphin is 40 km / h), dive to a depth of about one hundred meters, jump out of the water nine meters high and five meters long.

Another unique feature of these marine mammals is that almost all species of dolphins (with the exception of the Amazonian river dolphin and several other varieties) see well both underwater and above the surface. They have this ability due to the structure of the retina, one part of which is responsible for the image in the water, the other - above its surface.

Since whales and dolphins are relatives, like all representatives of cetaceans, they are quite capable of staying under water for a long period. But, they still need oxygen, so they constantly float to the surface, showing a blue muzzle and replenishing air supplies through a drawbar, which overlaps under water. Even during sleep, the animal is fifty centimeters from the surface and, without waking up, swims out every half a minute.

Way of life

Dolphins live in packs and do not tolerate loneliness very well. Although they do not have a leader, they perform all actions in concert: they hunt together, raise children, have fun, performing jumps of amazing beauty one after another.

The dolphin is considered one of the most intelligent mammals on our planet: the weight of its brain is 1700 grams, which is three hundred grams more than a human, and there are also twice as many convolutions in the cerebral cortex. This explains their highly developed social consciousness, ability to sympathize, readiness to help sick and wounded relatives, as well as drowning people.

Dolphins help quite actively: if one of the members of the flock is injured or barely afloat, they support him near the surface so that he cannot drown and choke. They do the same in relation to a person, helping to get to the shore. Some scientists explain why dolphins do this by caring for the population: each individual in the flock is valuable - and everything must be done to keep it alive.

Language

For communication, animals use gestures (turns, jumps, different styles of swimming, head, fins, tail), as well as voice: the sounds of dolphins are about 14 thousand signals, and everyone has heard about the songs of dolphins. These unique animals are able to perceive the frequency of vibrations up to 200 thousand/sec, while the human ear - up to 20 thousand.

They also have a four times better ability to analyze the sounds of dolphins, separating frequencies from each other (to find out why dolphins have such abilities, in Lately lots of research is being done). Communication occurs mainly with the help of ultrasound (it is especially convenient for them to use it to transmit sound over long distances).

The songs of dolphins are not only ultrasound: the sounds of dolphins often sound at an average frequency and are expressed by clicks, squeaks, whistles (studies have shown that they perceive their speech as hieroglyphic pictures).

Dolphin sounds are of two types:

• Sonar or echolocation - animals hear the echo of a beating sound and identify it;
• Whistling or chirping - these sounds of dolphins are used for close communication with relatives and animals express their emotions by them. Scientists have counted about 186 different type“whistles”, which, like human speech, contain sounds, syllables, words, phrases, paragraphs, context and dialect.

Nutrition

The diet of dolphins is based on fish, squid, shrimp (some dolphins in the ocean, in order to catch their favorite prey, are quite capable of diving to a depth of 260 kilometers), killer whales eat marine mammals and birds.

They fish in different ways. Sometimes the whole flock of dolphins is looking for her, sometimes - by a separate group or sent in search of a scout.

If hunting takes place on the high seas, dolphins surround a large school of fish, knocking them into a heap, after which they take turns diving there and feeding. If they fish near the shore, the strategy is somewhat different: a flock of dolphins drives schools to land, after which the fish are easily caught in shallow water.

reproduction

The ability to reproduce in females appears between the fifth and twelfth years of life, in males between the ninth and thirteenth. Their couples are unstable and animals change partners every time.

How long the pregnancy lasts is not precisely established, presumably this period is from ten to eighteen months. When giving birth, the female is very close to the surface, so that, as soon as the baby is born, raise her tail high, giving him the opportunity to take a sip of air before falling into the water.

Usually one baby about half a meter long is born, and up to six months the mother feeds him with milk and protects him. Newborn cubs usually do not fall asleep in the first month of their life and do not allow their mothers to sleep, swimming around them and emerging to the surface every thirty seconds, forcing them to be constantly on the alert.

Relationships with people

Humans and dolphins have a long and complex history: until recently, animals were actively hunted, which led to the complete and partial extinction of some species. After the fishing was banned, the situation improved, but a new trend appeared: to catch these animals for the show (especially since they are very smart and grasp everything on the fly) and giving people far from the sea the opportunity to swim with dolphins. It should be noted that the idea is not the best, because if in natural conditions the inhabitants of the sea live from thirty to fifty years, in captivity - only seven.

Their early death is primarily influenced by a too passive lifestyle, even despite constant training for participation in the show, extremely limited space and the quality of water: the lack of a complete set of nutrients and minerals they need in it.

Recently, people and dolphins have learned to interact better (first of all, this applies to humans, since these animals are sociable, friendly and peaceful). Moreover, communication with these mammals is beneficial to almost everyone: giving the opportunity to listen to the songs of dolphins, chat, stroke the blue back, feed fish, swim with dolphins, psychotherapists and doctors effectively use to treat diseases in children such as cerebral palsy, early childhood autism, etc.

Dolphins have always aroused the interest of people. Even the ancient Greeks noted the development of their intellect, as well as kindness and peacefulness, for which they valued and respected these animals. Over time, they became the closest water friend of man, because they repeatedly helped in this or that situation, saving people. Scientists are still researching and collecting interesting facts about dolphins and we have combined the most famous of them into one list.

1. The brain of dolphins is very developed and has twice as many convolutions as the human one. Moreover, they know how to control their hemispheres. Closing one eye, left or right, they temporarily put the corresponding left or right hemisphere into sleep, while the second continues to work.

2. An interesting fact about bottlenose dolphins. They live off the coast of Australia and in a rather unusual way look for their food. They put a sea sponge on the tip of the nose, and then use it to search the bottom. They do this so as not to accidentally get hurt, because coastal waters Australia is full of sharp corals.

3. These creatures can reach speeds of up to 50 km / h. But far from all have the ability to move so fast, but only one species - squirrel dolphins.

4. Among the interesting facts about dolphins for children is the incredibly fast skin regeneration. Any wound, minor scratch or deep cut heals 8 times faster on a creature's body than on a human. It is worth noting that even bacteria, if there is very dirty water around, do not affect the wounds of dolphins and cannot lead to infection. By comparison, a rather serious injury the size of basketball will heal the creature in just a week.

5. Like humans, dolphins use their lungs to absorb oxygen. But their respiratory organ is more developed, because it processes up to 80% of all the air that enters it, in contrast to the 17% that human lungs are capable of. This allows the creature to be under water from 10 to 15 minutes by means of oxygen capture.

6. Interesting fact about Black Sea dolphins. Like other members of their species, they have a reduced perception of pain. All this is due to a special substance that their body secretes, which has an effect somewhat reminiscent of morphine.

7. Despite belonging to the sea or river type, these animals have poor eyesight, but their hearing is very well developed. With the help of sounds, they communicate, this has been proven for a very long time. And recently, scientists finally managed to count their number, which amounted to about 14 thousand different signals, which are a kind of “words”.

8. Studies have shown that each of the dolphins has its own name. They receive it at birth, it was possible to understand this by the sounds that immediately follow after the baby is born. Also, subsequently, it is to this sound that they respond in the future.

9. An interesting fact from the life of dolphins - unlike other creatures, they are always born with their tail forward, otherwise they would immediately drown.

10. What once again proved the development of their mind is that dolphins recognize themselves in the mirror. In addition to being just smart, they also have self-awareness - a rare phenomenon for animals.

Dolphins have long been one of man's favorite ocean animals. They have high intelligence and a cheerful, friendly disposition. For most of us, dolphins are associated with funny acrobatic performances in the dolphinarium. However, some countries are seriously concerned about keeping dolphins in captivity and are even passing laws to protect them.

Why did dolphins deserve such respect among many peoples and become an integral part of human culture? Let's try to figure it out by studying interesting facts about these wonderful animals.

Dolphin in an aviary.

India has become the fourth country to ban the keeping of dolphins in captivity. Earlier similar measures were taken by Costa Rica, Hungary and Chile. The Indians call dolphins "a person or person of a different origin than homo sapiens." Accordingly, the "person" must have its own rights, and its exploitation for commercial purposes is unacceptable by law. Animal behavioral scientists (ethologists) say it is very difficult to define the line that separates human intelligence and emotions from the nature of dolphins.

The dolphin is the only mammal whose birth literally begins with the tail, and not with the head! Young dolphins stay with their mother for two or three years.

In nature, there are almost forty species of dolphins, their closest relatives are whales and sea cows. Dolphins evolved relatively recently - about ten million years ago, during the Miocene. Most species of dolphins live in salt water, but there are also freshwater animals.

Adult dolphins reach sizes from 1.2 m in length and weight from 40 kg (river dolphin) to 9.5 m and 10 tons (killer whale). The brain is the largest organ in the dolphin's body. During sleep, part of the brain stays awake, allowing the dolphin to breathe while sleeping so as not to drown. The life of a dolphin is directly dependent on access to oxygen.

Dolphins have a weak sense of smell, but excellent eyesight and absolutely unique hearing. By emitting powerful sound impulses, they are capable of echolocation, which allows them to perfectly navigate in the water, find each other and get food.

Dolphins can swim at speeds up to 25 miles per hour for long periods of time. This is about three times faster than the world's fastest swimmers.

They also love to do ... surfing! For example, surfer dolphins can often be observed off the coast of the Hawaiian Islands.

The history of human-dolphin interaction begins from the moment of the first mention of these animals. It has recently been found that the body language of dolphins largely follows the rules of human verbal communication. Communication with dolphins has a positive effect on the human body, especially on the child's psyche. British experts came to this conclusion back in 1978. Since that time, the development of "dolphin therapy" began. Now it is used to treat many physical and mental diseases, including autism. Swimming with dolphins relieves chronic pain, improves immunity and even helps children develop speech.

A dolphin and a pregnant woman off the coast of Ixtapa, Mexico. Ixtapa, MexicoPicture: CATERS

An absolutely unique feature of dolphins is that they can "look inside" a person, like an ultrasound device: for example, they quickly determine the pregnancy of a woman. The feeling of a "new life" is often very emotionally exciting for dolphins, they react violently and joyfully to pregnant women. As a rule, pregnant women are not allowed to swim in the enclosures (although this may be best time for communication) in order not to take away the attention of animals from other visitors and to avoid an involuntary "emotional attack" on the unborn baby.

A touching example of human care for animals: the shelter feeds a 10-day-old dolphin who has lost her mother.

He already has a best friend - a penguin.

Dolphins easily and friendly communicate with other animals, and they reciprocate.

Dolphins study a tiger cub at a safari park in Ginseng, China.

Incredibly romantic fact from the "private" life of dolphins - ethologists studying Amazon dolphins have discovered that males give gifts to potential mates. So, what gift is a female dolphin waiting for to consider a male as a candidate for procreation? Of course, a bouquet of river algae!

Due to their graceful beauty, dolphins have become popular models for photographers from all over the world. Let's see if looking at amazing photos with these animals also has an effect akin to "dolphin therapy"?

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Interesting Facts about dolphins that we have collected in this article are able to change the attitude of each person towards these animals. Yes, yes, specifically to animals, because they are not fish.

Mankind has been looking for brothers in mind for many centuries. To achieve this goal, people spend a lot of money on studying outer space, research of different sciences and locations. And what if we are not alone even on Earth, we simply do not notice the intelligence of other representatives of the planet? We are sure that the behavior and interesting facts about dolphins will make you rethink their significance.

Despite the fact that dolphins live in water, they are different from other representatives of the seas and oceans. The fact is that animals are warm-blooded. At the same time, dolphins are much closer to humans than we might think. Did you know that they feed their babies with milk? At the same time, they do not throw the game at all. Instead of scales, they have coda, which is quite soft and delicate to the touch. Dolphins are distinguished from fish even by other fins. Instead of bones in the fins, something similar to the phalanges of the fingers.

Brain

The brain of an adult individual weighs about 1.7 kilograms. A person has 1400 grams. Naturally, the size itself does not say anything, the structure is important. So, magnetic resonance imaging showed that dolphins have a total number of convolutions and nerve cells outnumbers humans. Hence the conclusions are imposed that we simply live in different environments. In reality, it can be assumed that dolphins are also intelligent creatures. And repeated rescues of people from the water are proof of this. Actually, they have a language of communication.

Communication

It has long been no secret that dolphins are able to communicate through specific sound signals. The facts indicate that animals emit different signals in frequency, which remind us of whistling and clicking. According to the latest scientific data, dolphins are capable of emitting about 14,000 different signals. That's about one person's vocabulary. At the same time, all dolphins have their own names, to which they respond. Amazing, isn't it?

Here's another interesting fact for you. Dolphins rarely live alone. Their packs also suggest a complex structure in terms of sociology. Each individual in their flock has a certain place, that is, a meaning. All warm-blooded "fish" are distinguished by inquisitive behavior. Unlike wild animals, dolphins do not avoid meeting people. On the contrary, they like to play, especially with people's children. In the entire history of mankind, there has not been a single case of a dolphin attacking a person. Unfortunately, there is no such favor on our part. People often enslave dolphins. And it's terrible!

Dolphin Speed ​​Mystery

The famous British zoologist Sir James Gray in 1936 drew attention to the speed of movement of dolphins. The figure was amazing - 37 kilometers per hour. After a series of studies, it became clear that, according to the laws of hydrodynamics, a dolphin cannot achieve such a speed, but the fact remains. His work has gone down in history as "Grey's Paradox". To this day, people cannot explain how dolphins accelerate at such a speed. Every year, people scientists present new theories and assumptions, but so far no one has reached the truth.

Ability to regenerate

Among the most interesting facts about dolphins is the ability to regenerate. At the same time, the ability to heal in these animals is better than in humans. Even in the event of a serious injury, dolphins are able to regenerate. However, they do not die from blood poisoning. Instead, they go to the bottom, where there are no microbes. In case of injury, for example, from shark teeth, they are restored in just a couple of weeks. It's funny that no traces remain at the site of the wound. The information provided indicates that nervous system Dolphins are more developed than humans.

official recognition

Another fun fact about dolphins. They have received public recognition in many countries. In particular, in India, animals were excluded from the list. That is, dolphins were given the status of an individual. That is, India is the first state in which there are two types of personalities: people and dolphins. This suggests that the self-awareness of dolphins still exists. The Ministry of the Environment around the world advocates for appropriation this status. People must comply special rights animals, because they have intelligence. Number of rescues human lives confirmation of this.

It is worth adding that these animals are famous for their playful behavior. Will use the term "animals", since they have not received the status of individuals everywhere. It should be said that dolphins are capable of even blowing bubbles in the form of rings under water for entertainment. Thus, they entertain many sailors. Many of them are trying to establish communication with people through bubbles. Apparently, dolphins came to the conclusion before us that it was necessary to look for mutual language. Unfortunately, not all people correctly understand their signals, referring to the underdevelopment of the species. But in fact it turns out the opposite.

Truly, dolphins are considered to be man's best marine friends. They are friendly, happy and social animals and have been positively noted for their playful nature as well as their high intelligence. There are many cases when dolphins helped rescue services in rescuing people. Here are 15 interesting facts about dolphins that you may not know.

The most interesting facts about dolphins

1. On this moment 43 species of dolphins are known to date. 38 of them are inhabitants of the seas and oceans, and the remaining 5 are river.

2. Research scientists have proven that dolphins lived on land before adapting to water. When studying their fins, scientists discovered that they actually formed and previously looked like paws and fingers. So perhaps our closest relatives are marine life.

3. Images of dolphins were found in the city of Petra, Jordan. This city was founded in 312 BC. This means that the dolphins are already pretty long time"collaborate" with the person.

4. Dolphins are the only animals that give birth to their babies tail first. Otherwise, the babies would drown.

5. A tablespoon of water that gets into the lungs of a dolphin can burn to drown the animal. At the same time, in order to drown, a person needs two tablespoons of water to get into his lungs.

6. Dolphins can make sounds that they use when communicating over long distances. Also, these sounds allow you to determine what objects are ahead of them, which helps in calculating potential danger.

7. Dolphin sonars are the best in nature, surpassing by several times bats and similar devices created by people.

8. While sleeping, dolphins must remain on the surface of the water. They turn off only one part of the brain, while the other remains "on the alert." It supports breathing, and also allows you to monitor possible danger.

9. The Cove is the only dolphin movie to win an Oscar. In it, viewers can see how people heal these animals. The main theme of the film is the problem of cruelty towards dolphins.

10. Scientists believe that several hundred years ago, dolphins were much smaller than they are now. They also suggest that echolocation is an evolutionary process that animals acquired relatively recently.

11. Dolphins don't use their teeth while eating. They are designed exclusively for catching prey, which they then simply swallow whole.

12. Another interesting fact about dolphins is that at times Ancient Greece killing a dolphin was considered sacrilege and punishable by death. The Greeks considered them "hieros ichthys", which means "sacred fish".

13. Scientists have found that dolphins give themselves names. They develop their own individual whistles and even when the tone of the whistles changes, dolphins are able to identify them.

14. Dolphins must force themselves to breathe. They have not brought this process to automatism, in comparison with people.

15. Dolphins have two stomachs: one is for storing food and the other is used for digestion.

16. Even though the average life expectancy of dolphins is only 17 years, some centenarians can live up to 50 years.

17. Killer whales are considered the largest species of dolphins. Their bodies can be up to 30 feet long. In addition, killer whales are considered one of the most ferocious killers in the world.

18. If there is not enough food in their area of ​​residence, dolphins may migrate to other places. New habitats depend not only on the availability of food on them, but also on the temperature of the water, which should not be lower than the temperature of their bodies.

19. Dolphins have very sensitive skin and can get hurt at the slightest touch of a hard surface to get hurt. However, even the deepest wounds heal within a short time.

20. Dolphins can swim at speeds of 3 to 7 miles per hour. But scientists were able to record several cases when some individuals of these animals swam at a speed of about 20 miles per hour.

21. Sometimes dolphins die as soon as they get caught in fishing nets.

22. In Ancient Rome it was believed that dolphins carry souls to the "Isles of the Blessed". Images of these animals have been found on the hands of Roman mummies, presumably to ensure their safe passage to the afterlife.

23. Some dolphins are able to understand about 60 words, which can make up 2000 sentences. This is a clear indication that these animals have self-awareness.

24. Dolphins do not have a sense of smell, but they have a sense of taste and, like humans, are able to distinguish between sweet, sour, bitter and salty tastes.

25. And the last of the most interesting facts about dolphins is that these animals are capable of killing a shark. They do this with powerful blows with their noses and foreheads.

Dolphins are truly amazing animals that continue to amaze humanity with every new scientific discovery.