Dolphin Facts for Kids/Most Interesting Facts for Kids

 

Dolphin Facts for Kids/Most Interesting Facts for Kids

·       Dolphin is very playful and active aquatic animal.

·       Scientific name is Delphinus delphis.

·       Whales and dolphins evolved from Pakicetus, a furry mammal that roamed the earth 50 million years ago.

·       The Greeks called the dolphin “Womb fish”.

·       Dolphin’s limbs modified into flippers also called pectoral fins.

·       On its back, has a dorsal fin which acts like the keel on a boat,

·       The length of the dolphin is 1.7m and the weight up to 22000 pounds.

·       Killer whale, false whale and pilot whale are the largest members of the dolphin family.

·       The smallest and rarest dolphin, which is a subspecies of Hector's dolphin, is Maui’s dolphin.

·       Dolphin’s long snout which is called rostrum is used to probe the ocean floor for hidden fish.

·       Dolphin has conical-shaped teeth inside the rostrum.

·       They have blowholes at the top of their head which they use to breathe when reach the water surface.

·       They have a layer of fat under their skin, called blubber.

·       To communicate with each other, they use their blowholes to produce a variety of sounds.

·       Its large fatty forehead is called melon by which the sounds are projected.

·       They have awesome eyesight both in and out of water.

·       They are able to see in front of, beside and behind of them because their eyes are on each side of the head.

·       Some marine-life researchers believe that dolphins are basically colour-blind.

·       They sleep with one eye open.

·       They give birth one baby or calf every 1 to 6 years and the new born calf suckles thick milk from its mother.

·       They live in moderate to warm oceans, seas, bays, gulfs, harbours.

·       Dolphins live in groups, which is called “school” or “pod”.

·       As dolphin live along coastal areas, they eat fish, squid, shrimp, crab octopus, crab, jellyfish etc.

·       The adult dolphin eats about 15 to 25 pounds of food each day.

·       The dolphin has three chambered stomach but few species have two chambers.

·       They do not swallow the salt water because the salt water is force out of their mouth when they swallow the food.

·       Dolphins have no sense of smell and have no sense of taste.

·       Each day an adult dolphin produces 4L of urine and about 1.4 kg of faces.

·       Mother dolphin prepares her youngsters carefully for independence by teaching it how to find and catch the prey, avoid danger, interact with other dolphins etc.

·       They like to play with objects and other dolphins, can jump up to 4.9m above the water surface and can make bubble rings.

·       They are good swimmers and can swim up to 18 miles per hour.

·       They have the largest brain among the animal kingdom which is weigh about 1600gm so  they are very intelligent and smart animals.

·       They display self-awareness, problem-solving, empathy, innovation, teaching skills, sadness, happiness, and curiosity.

·       They establish strong social relationships, assist injured dolphins,  take the injured member to the surface so that it can breathe.