Dolphins!

Whenever I go to the ocean, I get excited when I see dolphins. You can occasionally see them swimming by as the look for food or the others in their group. A group of dolphins is called a pod. Once when Memaw and I were on a whale watching boat, we had some dolphins swimming right in front of the boat. They seem to swim effortlessly as they played in the wave called a “bow wave” that is pushed out in front of the boat. At a park called Marine World, I even got to feed one of the dolphins a tasty fish. He even said “thanks”, well I think that’s what he said. It was that or “Wow, you look handsome in that shirt”. It was hard to be sure.

There are over 30 kinds of dolphins in the world’s oceans. There are also some that live in fresh water rivers. Dolphins are actually considered small tooth whales. They are not fish. Fish breath underwater using gills. Dolphins breath air like us instead of having gills. Dolphins are also aquatic (it means living in the water) mammals. They feed their babies milk and even have eyelashes! Dolphins can live for 40-50 years. They love to eat small fish which they find with the help of echolocation. They make a series of clicks and whistles which help them locate the fish. They can even find fish buried in the sand and mud!

Dolphins are very intelligent. They even have a kind of language.  All those clicks and whistles really mean something. Unfortunately, Papaw doesn’t speak dolphin, so I can’t tell you what they talk about.

One of my favorite dolphins lives in the Amazon River of Brazil, South America. It’s called the pink

dolphin because its skin looks, well, pink. It’s a bit bigger than the ocean dolphins. Ocean dolphins are usually 5-6 feet long. The pink dolphin can be 7-8 feet long.  They eat many different kinds of fish. The males are the pinkest. They also have a big forehead that scientists call the “melon”. It helps them echolocate and hunt easier in the muddier water. They can swim in groups, but often are found in pairs. They can be really playful. They have been known to rub against fishermen’s boats and even grab their oars. They love to play with things in the water like sticks, or even turtles. It looks fun, but I’m not sure if the turtle likes it.  

Here’s a fun video about dolphins. I hope you like it!

 

Love Papaw.