Dolphins are rightfully considered the most smart creatures depths of the sea. Dolphins belong to the group of mammals. They feed their young with milk. In addition, dolphins communicate with each other using sounds. They also understand people very well and are trainable. There are cases in history when dolphins saved people. Therefore, we suggest further viewing more interesting and surprising facts about dolphins.

1. Dolphins are considered the most popular and most amazing animals among all types of marine animals.

2. These sea creatures are famous for their cheerful character and high intelligence.

3. Dolphins use only half of their brains during sleep.

4. An average dolphin can eat about 13 kg of fish per day.

5. These sea animals are capable of creating a wide range of sounds.

6. One of the loudest sounds dolphins make is clicking.

7. Dolphins help people with developmental disabilities and psychological therapy.

8. Dolphins can create bubbles when playful.

9. The largest member of the dolphin family is the killer whale.

10. Killer whales can reach more than nine meters in length.

11. Dolphins have sex for pleasure.

12. These sea creatures can swim at speeds of up to 40 km per hour.

13. More than 11 km per hour is the usual swimming speed of dolphins.

14. Dolphins are considered the smartest animals in the world.

15. Mostly these sea animals live in schools of up to ten individuals.

16. Temporary associations of dolphins can reach 1000 individuals.

17. The length of the smallest dolphin is about 120 cm.

18. The weight of the largest representative of this family can reach up to 11 tons.

19. The average dolphin weighs more than 40 kg.

20. The skin of these is very thin sea ​​creatures.

21. Dolphins' skin is easily damaged by sharp objects.

22. The gestation period of a female dolphin can last twelve months.

23. The gestation period for killer whales is about 17 months.

24. There are about 100 teeth in the oral cavity of a dolphin.

25. Dolphins do not chew their food, but swallow it.

26. The name of the dolphin comes from the Greek word “Delphis”.

27. Dolphins can dive up to 304 meters deep.

28. Many of these sea animals live in fairly shallow water.

29. Within the group, the bonds between dolphins are very strong.

30. Dolphins can care for wounded and sick individuals.

31. These sea creatures breathe air.

32. These sea animals breathe air through their blowhole.

33. Most species of dolphins live in salt water.

34. The oldest dolphin died at 61.

35. These sea animals give birth to babies tail first.

36. Dolphins use echolocation to search for food.

37. These sea creatures often use interesting hunting tactics.

38. Dolphins cannot sleep completely enough to breathe constantly.

39. Dolphins are considered very interesting and playful animals.

40. These sea animals can jump to a height of about six meters.

41. Dolphins can play with some types of animals.

42. Dolphins learn foreign languages.

43. Swimming with these sea creatures helps relieve stress, tension and insomnia.

44. Since ancient times, dolphins have attracted people with their benevolence.

45. About 70 species of these sea creatures are known today.

46. ​​Dolphins recognize their reflection in the mirror.

47. Dolphins constantly swim in circles in the water.

48. These sea creatures live in family flocks.

49. Dolphins help each other in a school.

50. Every dolphin has a name.

51. Dolphins are very similar to people.

52. These sea creatures have a four-chambered heart.

53. The brain of dolphins has the same weight as that of a human.

54. A dolphin cannot look at objects directly in front of it.

55. These sea creatures can spend about seven minutes without air underwater.

56. Dolphins communicate with each other using echolocation.

57. A dolphin can stay underwater for up to 20 minutes in case of danger.

58. Certain serious skills of dolphins allow them to easily adapt to any environment.

59. During the first month of life, these sea creatures do not sleep.

60. Sonar system sound signals Dolphins can use continuously for 15 days.

61. Dolphins explore the world around them with the help of creaks and clicks.

62. The eyes of these creatures can see a 300-degree panoramic environment.

63. Dolphins can look in different directions at the same time.

64. These sea creatures are able to see in low light.

65. Every two hours, the entire layer of skin of dolphins changes.

67. Any damage to the skin of dolphins heals quickly.

68. These sea creatures do not experience pain.

69. Dolphins can continue to play after being seriously injured.

70. Dolphins are capable of producing natural pain relievers.

71. Dolphins are able to convert 80% of their energy into thrust.

72. Dolphins swim in the ocean with open wounds.

73. These sea creatures have an excellent immune system.

74. Dolphins are able to absorb antibiotics.

75. These sea creatures are able to sense the Earth's magnetic field.

76. During high solar activity, dolphins can wash ashore.

77. The sonar system of dolphins is considered a unique phenomenon.

78. Dolphins have an amazing ability to detect objects at a distance.

79. Albinos exist in nature - rare view dolphins.

80. With the help of the nasal air sac, these sea creatures reproduce sounds.

82. Dolphins can blow bubbles underwater with the help of a blower.

83. Shellfish, squid and fish are part of the usual diet of dolphins.

84. These sea creatures can eat up to 30 kg of food per day.

85. At a distance of up to 20 meters, these sea creatures can recognize other animals.

86. Dolphins are very easy to tame and train.

87. The vocabulary of these sea animals consists of more than 14,000 words.

88. Dolphins can conduct a dialogue using sign language.

89. These sea animals are capable of repeating words after a person.

90. Land mammals are the ancestors of dolphins.

91. About 49 million years ago, the ancestors of dolphins moved into the water.

92. On average, dolphins live more than 50 years.

93. There are four species of river dolphins.

94. There are 32 species of sea creatures.

95. Dolphins were considered sacred animals in Ancient Greece.

96. Dolphins pass on their skills and abilities as a legacy.

97. These sea creatures cannot smell.

98. Dolphins cannot distinguish between some tastes.

99. Dolphins live with their mother for three years.

100. The pink dolphin is considered a unique species and lives in the Amazon.

The dolphin (Greek for “source of life”) is perhaps the closest creature to us, and it is difficult to find a person who does not melt with delight at the sight of these fabulous animals. According to scientists, they are among the most mysterious creatures, which hide many amazing secrets.

Breath. Dolphins are not fish, although they live in aquatic environment. They belong to the class of mammals, the order of cetaceans. They do not have gills, they breathe oxygen, which is why dolphins often “jump” out of the water - this is how they inhale air. By the way, air enters through a single nostril (blowhole), which is located at the back of the head and then enters the lungs. On average, dolphins stay underwater for 5-7 minutes, after which they make another “jump”.

We're looking for a breath of fresh air.

Nutrition. Dolphins are predators. The dolphin's diet usually includes fish, squid and shellfish. Although they have over 100 teeth, they do not participate in chewing food; dolphins absorb food entirely. They only need teeth to grab prey. Dolphins are warm-blooded animals and in order to maintain a fairly high temperature body (36.6 °C), they eat up to 30 kg of food per day.

Orientation in space. Dolphins navigate in water using echolocation. That is, they direct their high-frequency signal, say, to the surface of the bottom and then pick up the echo reflected from the bottom. In this way, an idea of ​​the surrounding environment is formed. This method of orientation in space is so developed in dolphins that they can eyes closed get food day and night, “listen” for objects up to 2 millimeters, and also avoid danger. A dolphin, at a distance of 20 meters, unerringly swims up to a pellet thrown into the water.

Man and dolphin. Dolphins always live in schools of up to 1000 animals. They have a very strong sense of self-sacrifice; they never leave each other in trouble. These are perhaps one of the friendliest animals. These amazing inhabitants of the seas are not at all afraid of people, but on the contrary, they treat us very kindly. There are many facts that dolphins saved people from sharks, threw drowning children ashore, and helped lost sailors get to land.

Intelligence. Scientists have proven that dolphins are the most intelligent creatures after humans. The mass of a dolphin's brain even exceeds that of a human brain (it weighs, on average, 1.7 kg, in humans - 1.4 kg). However, if we consider the brain relative to body weight, then we, of course, remain out of competition. The intelligence of cetaceans is so high that they are sometimes even called “sea people.” True intellectuals are able to understand their surroundings, quickly navigate any situation, and even make plans for the future. Each dolphin has its own individual character. They are very easily tamed by humans and always unerringly do what the trainer tells them to do. Moreover, dolphins do this not at all for the “fish”, they are interested in themselves creative process completing tasks. Scientists have proven that sea people understand the trainer’s commands, and do not mindlessly react to them.

Dolphin language. Did you know that dolphins have their own language? Yes, yes, exactly, dolphins can talk to each other no worse than you and I. They communicate using ultrasonic signals. The explanatory dictionary of the dolphin language consists of 14,000 signal words, which is approximately equal to the vocabulary ordinary person. In addition, dolphins can conduct dialogue in sign language (jumping, turning, posing, etc.). Amazing chatterers also try to talk to humans, and some “phrases” of the dolphin language can be translated into human ones. For example, a barking sound made by a dolphin means that it is angry. If a dolphin whistles sadly, and then the whistle becomes loud, he needs help. By the way, like a parrot, some species of dolphins are able to repeat words after a person. This once again confirms the highly developed nature of marine life.

The sounds made by dolphins have a healing effect!

Dream. For a very long time, scientists could not understand how dolphins sleep? Like all mammals, marine life needs sleep, but if they fall asleep, they may simply choke on water. How then do amazing creatures sleep? It turns out that dolphins never sleep completely, that is, the brain of marine inhabitants does not completely turn off during sleep. Instead, the cerebral hemispheres “sleep in turns”: while dozing right hemisphere, the left controls vital important processes- including periodic surfacing to breathe. Then the hemispheres switch places. This type of sleep is unique to dolphins and is not found in anyone else. When a dolphin wakes up, both hemispheres come into play.

Origin. The ancestors of dolphins are land mammals - mesonychids - this is the opinion that most scientists come to. They were very similar to modern deer with an elongated tail. About 49 million years ago, for some reason, terrestrial mesonychids “went into the water.” Coarse fur began to be replaced by smooth skin, a thick layer of fat appeared, which did not allow it to freeze even in cold waters, the forelimbs turned into fins, and at the same time the size of the brain increased approximately three times.

Some more amazing facts:

· Dolphins and humans are the only creatures that have sex for pleasure and not just for reproduction.

· The average swimming speed of dolphins in water is 24 km/h. In some species it can reach 60 km/h.

· Each dolphin has its own name, and it receives it from birth.

· Dolphins are able to recognize themselves in the mirror.

· On average, dolphins live 50 years. However, sometimes their age can reach 75 years.

· There are 32 species of sea dolphins and 4 species of river dolphins.

· In Ancient Greece, the dolphin was considered a sacred animal and the criminal paid with his own life for killing sea creatures.

· Dolphins pass on their skills and abilities by inheritance.

· Dolphins do not smell, but they can distinguish between bitter, salty, sweet and sour tastes.

Now let's just admire these fabulous creatures and more:

Many of us have been to dolphin shows. Funny and always smiling animals, they swim to music, catch rings, jump over obstacles and even draw. In this article you will learn even more little-known information. We offer you the most interesting facts about dolphins.

• 1. Dolphins belong to the family of the suborder of toothed whales of the cetacean order.
• 2. Under the name “dolphin”, scientists identify about 70 species of living creatures that inhabit bodies of water (seas, oceans, bays and rivers around the world).

• 3. Dolphins have a very interesting swimming style. Describing circles first in one direction, they observe those around them with one eye, and in the other direction with the other eye. Thus, dolphins make sure that predators do not get close.
• 4. The fastest species of dolphins swim at speeds of more than 30 kilometers per hour. The average speed of most individuals is from 5 to 12 kilometers per hour.

• 5. Dolphins live in schools, and all its members are relatives. They help each other when necessary, support the babies above the water so that they do not choke. There are numerous reports of dolphins rescuing drowning people.

• 6. At birth, each dolphin is given its own name by the pod. The difference in the sound of whistles between individuals has been scientifically recorded.
• 7. Structure internal organs Dolphins are in many ways similar to humans. These mammals also breathe with lungs and have a four-chambered heart. In addition, the ratio of brain mass to total body mass and even its size (1.5-2 meters) is also approximately the same as in humans.
• 8. To see an object up close, dolphins, like killer whales, lie on their sides.
• 9. The blowhole on the upper body of dolphins is responsible for the sounds they make.

• 10. To find food, dolphins use their natural ability of echolocation.
• 11. Dolphins can recognize themselves in the reflection of a mirror.
• 12. According to scientists, dolphins descended from land animals similar to wolves. In the process of evolution, they adapted to life in water.
• 13. The head of the dolphin family is a female.

• 14. Nature made sure that the newly born dolphin did not swallow sea water. The calf is born with its flippers forward. When the head is born, the mother, together with other relatives, pushes it to the surface of the water.
• 15. Dolphins differ from fish in the way they swim. If fish underwater wave their tail from side to side, then these animals move it up and down.
• 16. An adult dolphin has 210 teeth. They are used to capture and hold food. But dolphins cannot chew; they do not have chewing muscles.

• 17. Everyone is interested in how dolphins sleep. After all, they, like people, need air. The brain of dolphins is structured in such a way that while one half of it is asleep, the other is awake, and accordingly is responsible for breathing. So dolphins sleep about 8 hours a day, swimming near the surface of the water or in shallow water.
• 18. A little dolphin stays near its mother for about 2-3 years.
• 19. Whales and sea cows are the closest relatives of dolphins.
• 20. Adult river dolphin weighs about 40 kilograms, and the killer whale (also a genus of dolphins) can reach 10 tons.

• 21. There are more than 180 different sounds in the speech of dolphins.
• 22. Dolphins have, in truth, a unique ability to perform ultrasound examination of living beings. It is thanks to this that mammals accurately determine the pregnancy of women in the water with them. Having learned about this, dolphins display a very active, joyful, violent emotional attack.
• 23. Male dolphins give gifts to their potential mates during the courtship period. It could be a luxurious bouquet... of algae!

Interesting video about dolphins. The guy was just filming a video and didn’t know that he would film something like this... Watch:

Dolphins have long been one of the most beloved waterfowl for humans. And this is not surprising! After all, dolphins are the most peaceful, intelligent and friendly creatures on the planet! When we talk about dolphins, we always imagine trained cetacean creatures performing acrobatic tricks. However, there are countries that are categorically against dolphinariums, believing that these smart creatures should not live outside the natural environment, because the number of dolphins is already significantly decreasing from year to year. And only the human factor is to blame for this.

A little history

It is assumed that the sperm whale, whale, dolphin, including the porpoise descended from the same ancestors - mammals that inhabited the earth millions of years ago, but were not strictly land animals, but rather loved to hunt and live in the water. These are mesonychids - omnivorous creatures with hooves like those of horses and cows, with a predatory, wolf-like appearance. According to approximate data, mesonychids lived for more than sixty million years, and they inhabited the modern continent of Asia, part Mediterranean Sea(in ancient times it was the Tethys Sea). These animals most likely ate any small aquatic animals and any fish that then inhabited the numerous swamps off the coast.

And due to the fact that mesonychids spent most of their lives in any body of water, their appearance gradually began to develop in width, streamlined, their limbs turned into fins, while the hair on the skin began to disappear, and underneath it, thick subcutaneous fat developed and intensified. To make it easier for animals to breathe, the nostrils ceased to fulfill their original function: in the process of evolution, they became a vital organ for the animal, since creatures could breathe through them, and all thanks to their displacement to the top of the head.

Even if it was believed for a long time that the ancestors of cetaceans, including dolphins, were indeed mesonychids, they still “borrowed” most of all from hippopotamuses, and this is proven by numerous molecular studies. Dolphins are not just descendants of these artiodactyls, they are also deeply similar and part of their group. Until now, hippos and hippos live mainly in water; they only spend a couple of hours on land to eat. That is why scientists suggest that hippos are one of the evolutionary branches of cetaceans. It’s just that whales went further than hippos, they completely abandoned life on land and completely switched to life in the water.

And if the relationship between hippopotamuses with hooves and legless cetaceans seems strange to you, then we would like to give another version of the taxonomy, for example, land animals with 4 legs that evolved from fish. It’s just that we shouldn’t be surprised that long before our civilization appeared, the evolution of dolphins proceeded so rapidly.

Description of dolphins

Dolphins are large waterfowl that breathe air, unlike fish, whose breathing function is provided by gills. Sea dolphins are in the water all 24 hours, and this is where they give birth to little dolphins. Since the female feeds her babies herself, they are therefore warm-blooded creatures, mammals.

Unlike their relatives - whales, dolphins are more beautiful creatures. Apart from sharp teeth, no sinister intrigues can be found in their intelligent and friendly gaze. So, an adult dolphin can be 2.5 meters long and weigh only three hundred kilograms. Whereas it can be nine meters long and weigh eight tons. Males are always larger than females, by at least 20 centimeters. They have more than eighty teeth. The color of the body and fins is black or gray, while the belly is white.

The largest body cetacean dolphins have a brain that is amazingly awake all the time while the dolphin is sleeping. The brain allows the animal to breathe all the time, even when it is sleeping: this way the dolphin will not drown, because the supply of oxygen for cetaceans is very important for life.

Scientists have called dolphin skin a natural miracle. This is their wealth! When dolphins calmly dampen the water turbulence, when the body needs to slow down a little.

This is interesting!
The creators of submarines have long looked closely at how dolphins swim. Thanks to the dolphins, the designers were able to create an artificial skin for the submarine.

Dolphins: what they eat and how they hunt

Shellfish, various types of fish and other aquatic animals are the food of the dolphin. Interestingly, dolphins can eat a lot of fish in a day. Dolphins hunt fish in schools, and each member of the school can eat up to thirty kilograms. All this is due to the fact that dolphins are animals that, when the temperature of ocean or sea water is too low (below zero degrees Celsius), must always maintain their own temperature in order to be optimal. And thick helps warm-blooded dolphins with this subcutaneous fat, replenished constantly due to huge amounts of food. That is why dolphins are always on the move, hunting, and only at night allow themselves to rest a little.

A school of dolphins can very quickly catch up with a school of fish, because in the sea these animals are aces. If the dolphins are already close to the beach, they instantly form half rings around the fish in order to push their future food to the shallow water and eat there. As soon as dolphins capture schools of fish, they do not immediately rush at them, but then continue to keep them in a circle so that they do not swim away, and each member of the pod can have lunch or dinner with their favorite food.

To see dolphins, just look for a school of fish. These cetaceans will definitely live where there are a lot of fish. In summer, dolphins can be found in abundance in Azov, when mullet and anchovy move to the sea to feed. Dolphins also swim close to the Caucasian shores in early autumn, when fish begin to migrate in herds.

As you may have noticed, it is rare to see one dolphin in the ocean, since these animals are very friendly, love to live in schools, hunt together, and even dolphins can jump beautifully and perform their tricks together with their comrades. Be that as it may, dolphins never got along with killer whales. There are also still poachers who hunt these friendly earthly creatures. Despite everything, dolphins trust people and even know how to communicate not only with each other, but also with other animals. They will never leave their comrades in trouble. And in case of severe danger, they can even help a person. There are so many legends and stories in the world about dolphins saving people’s lives. Some even watched as dolphins pushed boats that were carried away by the winds to the shores.

Dolphin breeding

Unlike other inhabitants of the aquatic world, dolphins are the only ones that are born with tails, not heads. And that's true. Loving mothers do not leave their babies even two or three years after birth.

This is interesting!
Dolphins are incredibly sensual and compassionate animals. A little dolphin, even after it becomes a completely independent adult male or female, never leaves its parents under any circumstances.

And not only do dolphins experience great affection and love for their own fellow creatures, but even for whales, other animals (they don’t like killer whales) and for people. Once a female and male have babies, they never leave each other, even after having numerous babies. Who else but dolphins know how to love their young, tenderly and lovingly treat them, teach them, take them hunting, so that soon the children themselves know how to hunt fish.

This is interesting!
If dolphins are hunting and sense danger, they lead their babies behind, but if there are no external threats, the baby dolphins calmly swim in front of their parents. Interestingly, after the cubs the females swim, and then the males - the protectors.

Relationships with people

Since each dolphin lives in peace and harmony with its fellow tribesmen and whales, it behaves accordingly. The sense of help in these animals is particularly developed. They will never leave a sick dolphin to die; they will even save a choking person at sea if, by a lucky chance, they find themselves nearby. Dolphins can hear a person’s cry for help far away, since their hearing is very developed, as is their brain.

The fact is that dolphins spend all their time in the water, which is why their vision is weakened (weak water transparency). Then, the hearing is perfectly developed. The dolphin uses an active location - the hearing is able to analyze the echo that occurs when it produces characteristic sounds from any objects surrounding the animal. Based on this, the echo tells the dolphin what shape and length the objects around him are, what they are made of, and in general, what they are. As you can see, hearing fully helps fulfill the visual role for the dolphin, which does not prevent this peace-loving creature from feeling complete in such a complex world.

It's easy for a person to tame a dolphin. Fortunately, like a dog, the animal is easy and simple to train. All you have to do is entice the dolphin with a delicious fish. He will perform any somersault for the public. Although dolphins have one flaw, they can forget any trick very quickly if a person forgets to feed them on time.

Why do we all treat dolphins differently than other animals? Looking at these cute and funny creatures, you forget about how huge these animals are, and how, despite their size, they are the only cetaceans that can safely be classified as the best “friends”.

Dolphins are like grandmothers on a bench, overly curious. They swim up to a person with interest, flirt with him, throw a ball, and even smile, although few people notice this. They are designed to smile at us, laugh with us. Well, we can’t call a dolphin’s face a muzzle, the smile on their face is cheerful and friendly – ​​that’s what attracts us to them!

Dolphins love us, we love them. But there are... heartless people who, for the sake of profit, forget about humanity and kill these peaceful creatures. In Japan, dolphin hunting is amazing! They don't even think about talking about sympathy for dolphins. On other continents, dolphins are placed in dolphinariums for the amusement of people. In cramped conditions in which they do not live longer than five years (for comparison, in nature, dolphins live up to fifty years).

This is interesting!
The Indian state has become the fourth state in the world to ban the construction of dolphinariums. The first countries to ban keeping these cetaceans in captivity were Asian Chile, Costa Rica, and Hungary. For Indians, dolphins are the same as a person who also has the right to freedom and life in nature.

Dolphin therapy

The history of the great friendship between sea dolphins and humans goes far into the past, even before scientists began to call these animals dolphins. Researchers of the body language of cetaceans have come to the conclusion that they have developed verbal communication abilities in the same way as humans. If a mentally ill child, an autist, spends a lot of time with dolphins and “communicates” with them, then this will have a beneficial effect on him. The child begins to smile and laugh. The British talked about this back in the 70s of the last century. Subsequently, dolphin therapy began to be actively used to treat not only mental and neurological diseases, but also many physical ones. Swimming with dolphins together is useful, you can relieve stress, strong headache, neuralgia and even rheumatism.

Abnormalities in behavior

All of you have probably seen this picture on the news or on the Internet, when the beaches are full of dolphins that have stranded themselves. Often they are thrown out on their own because they are very sick, injured, or poisoned. Dolphins clearly hear sounds from the shore, which are very similar to cries for help from their fellows. Therefore, upon hearing such a cry, dolphins rush to the shore to help, and often find themselves trapped.

Each dolphin in the ocean has its own name, which it responds to when its relatives call it. He receives it immediately 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 identifying a relative by voice without seeing him is a piece of cake 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. Most dolphins prefer to live in tropical and subtropical latitudes, but there are some that like colder waters, so you can see them near the Arctic, and some species are found both there. For example, although the white-beaked 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-beaked dolphins) 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 Amazon and Orinoco rivers.

Unfortunately, if previously representatives of this family were often encountered, now the river dolphin has practically disappeared due to loss of habitats, environmental pollution, a decrease in the amount of food and small populations 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. The white-faced dolphin, about three meters long, is considered a large inhabitant of the deep sea. The most major representative is a 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 whale dolphins - here the difference is about two meters). They weigh on average from one hundred fifty to three hundred kilograms, the killer whale weighs about a ton.

The backs of sea dolphins can be gray, blue, dark brown, black and even pink (albinos). The front part of the head can be either plain or white (for example, the white-faced dolphin has a white beak and the front part of its forehead).

In some species, the front mouth is rounded and there is no beak-shaped mouth. Other's - Not large sizes the head ends in an elongated mouth in the shape of a flattened “beak”, and the mouth is shaped in such a way that it seems to people watching them that they are always smiling, and therefore they often have an irresistible desire to swim with dolphins. At the same time, the impression is not spoiled even by the huge number of teeth of the same cone shape - dolphins have about two hundred of them.

Thanks to their elongated body and smooth, elastic skin, these animals hardly feel the resistance of the water while moving. 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 in height and five in length.

Another unique feature of these marine mammals is that almost all types of dolphins (with the exception of the Amazon river dolphin and several other species) 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 their blue muzzle and replenishing air reserves through the blowhole, which closes 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 schools and do not tolerate loneliness very well. Although they do not have a leader, they carry out all actions in coordination: they hunt together, raise children, have fun, performing one after another amazing beauty jumping.

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 the convolutions in the cerebral cortex are also twice as large. 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 pod is injured or barely stays afloat, they support him near the surface so that he cannot drown and choke. They do the same in relation to a person, also helping to get to the shore. Some scientists explain why dolphins do this by caring for the population: each individual in the pod is valuable - and everything must be done to save its life.

Language

To communicate, animals use gestures (turns, jumps, various swimming styles, 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 capable of perceiving vibration frequencies of up to 200 thousand per second, while the human ear is up to 20 thousand.

They are also four times more capable of analyzing dolphin sounds by separating frequencies from each other (to find out why dolphins have these abilities, see Lately a lot 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 vast distances).

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

There are two types of dolphin sounds:

• 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 the animals express their emotions with them. Scientists have counted about 186 different types of “whistles”, which, like human speech, contain sounds, syllables, words, phrases, paragraphs, context and dialect.

Nutrition

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

They catch fish in different ways. Sometimes the whole school of dolphins searches for her, sometimes in a separate group or they send a scout to look for her. If the hunt takes place in the open sea, dolphins surround a large school of fish, crowding them into a heap, after which they take turns diving there and feeding. If they are fishing near the shore, the strategy is somewhat different: a school of dolphins drives the schools towards 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 pairs are unstable and the animals change partners every time.

Exactly how long pregnancy lasts has not been established; the period is estimated to range 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, she raises her tail high, giving him the opportunity to take a breath of air before falling into the water.

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

Relationships with people

People 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 fishing was banned, the situation got better, but a new trend emerged: catching these animals for show (especially since they are very smart and catch 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 rapid death is primarily influenced by an overly passive lifestyle, even despite constant training to participate in the show, extremely limited space and water quality: the lack of a full range of nutrients and minerals they need.

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

Hello friends! Since you are reading this article, then you are interested in learning something new about dolphins. Today you have a great opportunity to get to know them better. The dolphin is a smart animal, they even heal people, as I wrote in.

Let's figure out who dolphins are and what they are. Like you, like me, they belong to the class of mammals. About eleven million years ago, the ancestors of dolphins decided to leave the water, setting off to explore the vastness of the earth. Looking around, they were horrified. That is why the dolphins had to return to the expanses of the water surface. These beauties have teeth, being warm-blooded, they feed their cubs with milk.

Habitat

Wikipedia says that they prefer seas and oceans as their habitat. There is practically no place where these mammals have not settled in our world. From the Red Sea to the northern reservoirs. Further - more: sometimes these animals choose rivers. The bottlenose species or the small bottlenose dolphin prefer tropical water.

How are they born?

Do you know how dolphins are born? The bottlenose dolphin carries the baby for about a year. It is born tail first. The cub's eyes are immediately open, and its senses are extremely developed. Moreover, a barely born dolphin already has sufficient coordination to follow in the footsteps of its mother, who helps to rise to the surface. Then comes the baby dolphin's first breath in his life. Such a trusting relationship between a child dolphin and its mother lasts approximately from 3 to 8 years.

Mother dolphin feeds her baby dolphin

Breathtaking speed

I don’t know about you, but for me the following fact became a real revelation. Dolphins develop amazing speed. As for bottlenose dolphins, they develop from four to eleven kilometers per hour. The caudal fin, the strongest part of the body, helps in this. If there is such a need, the speed can reach up to 32 kilometers per hour! The body has an ideal shape that allows it to move freely in the water.

Dolphins do not face such a thing as resistance. The body of a dolphin has been covered with scars since childhood, because these beauties have a uniquely smooth skin that helps them swim in the depths of the water. Just admire, watch this video of how dolphins accompany the ship:

Breath of dolphins

Another interesting fact from the life of these animals is related to... breathing! They breathe air. Despite the lack of gills (unlike fish), they have lungs and a unique blowhole located on the upper part of the body. With the help of it, dolphins, like whales, make all kinds of sounds. Bottlenose dolphins can hold their breath for more than seven and a half minutes! But they can spend no more than a quarter of an hour under water - otherwise they are at risk.

Gastronomic preferences

Dolphins prefer to feast on different types fish and squid. It depends on the region in which the friend lives. For example, dolphins of the river family are real gourmets. They care what they eat. The teeth and jaws are not developed enough to make chewing movements. They swallow the fish whole.

Dolphins and people: who is smarter?

I was also very interested to know: is it a myth that dolphins are smarter than people? The bottlenose dolphin's brain is the same size as a human's. However, the elephant is four times more developed! the main role is given to the relationship between the brain and spinal cord. For example, for a dolphin it is forty to one, while for a person it is fifty to one. Cats have a ratio of five to one, but this does not mean that they are stupid.

As far as one can judge, the ratios between humans and dolphins are close. But these animals live in a completely different environment. It requires other abilities: hearing, vision and other factors, without which one cannot survive under water. Dolphins can heal people, in addition, read about it here.

Dolphin sizes

Are you wondering: is a dolphin a fish or...? Based on size, these comrades are much larger than fish. Dolphins can be quite large. For example, the killer whale can be considered the largest of the family. Its length at birth is up to two and a half meters, amazing! Over time, the figure will reach six meters. But speaking of bottlenose dolphins, they are born barely a meter in length. It is rare that a bottlenose dolphin grows to exceed 2.5 meters.

What sounds do dolphins make?

Also, I wondered why dolphins make all sorts of sounds. I was curious to find the answer, which I am happy to share with you today. As mentioned above, the blowhole helps them “speak.” There is a whistle - for communication with each other, and sounds of a pulsating type, indicating emotional condition, like anger or excitement, and clicks to detect echolocation. That is, the direction. The animal world never ceases to amaze.

Dolphins know how to have fun!

Do you think it's true that dolphins like to play with each other? From time to time you have to watch how these animals jump out of the water and do something! Unimaginable acrobats. Swimming back and forth, playing with the waves, they make you hold your breath. There is a logical explanation for all this. By jumping out, the dolphins determine where the school of fish has passed. The games make up quite significant part the lives of these individuals.

They like to sort through pieces of coral, algae, communicate with their own kind, birds and even turtles. Dolphins are having fun while riding the waves! These are their games, friends. By the way, look at this funny video of a dolphin playing with a cat, my soul always warms up after watching it:

Why don't dolphins freeze underwater?

Finally, let's find out why dolphins, being warm-blooded, do not freeze in the water. Their body temperature is 36.6 degrees. In the northern seas, animals need to stay warm. Water, which conducts heat up to twenty-five times more efficiently than air, allows you to freeze much faster than in air.

Why do dolphins perform such miracles?! This is due to a large layer of fat under the skin. They can control their blood circulation and metabolism. This makes it possible to support normal temperature bodies, as Wikipedia says.

And finally, I have a small request for you, I recently found this video below on the Internet, which tells and shows how dolphins live in dolphinariums, watch it and write in the comments what you think about this?

Dolphins are mammals that are related to toothed whales, breathe with lungs and feed their babies with milk. They live in sea ​​waters and oceans, sometimes found in rivers with access to the sea.

A dolphin is considered a warm-blooded animal; its body temperature must always be within 36.6 degrees C. To reach this point, it must eat about 30 kg of food per day. Dolphins have more than 100 teeth, which do not take any part in chewing food. Animals swallow food whole.

Scientists have not yet fully learned the entire process of eating food, how these animals prepare it, and have not yet fully considered the question of what dolphins eat. Presumably, these intelligent animals created their own civilization, which is not yet possible to understand, but much is already known, which is described below.

What do dolphins eat from the first days of life?

A mother dolphin feeds her babies for the first time six hours after birth. The feeding process occurs shallow underwater. Since the baby does not have soft lips, he cannot suck on his own. Milk enters his mouth in a strong stream by injection. In the very first days of its life, a small dolphin receives mother's milk up to eight times within an hour, this lasts the whole day. Then the intervals between feedings gradually increase.

Dolphin milk is nutritious, containing about 33% fat and 7% protein. Water and lactose make up close to 58%. Eating such food, a small dolphin grows quickly, builds up a thick layer of fat, at one and a half years old begins to try fish for the first time and gradually begins to get its own food.

What do dolphins like to eat in the seas and oceans?

In their habitats, in the seas and ocean waters, dolphins try to be where the fish are. They are very picky when it comes to food, so they have to - they don’t eat, they prefer only a certain type of food.

It’s not worth talking about the sense of taste, because very little is known about it. But knowing the characteristics of the brain and cranial nerves, one can guess about some of the taste sensations of animals and what dolphins eat. After all, they prefer only a certain type of fish. Our scientists conducted experiments and proved that dolphins have taste buds on their tongues, which means they definitely have taste sensations.

The dolphin eats fish in large quantities. He eats a lot of it in a day. Fish is his favorite food. This includes almost all types sea ​​fish: horse mackerel and herring, mackerel, saury and hake, flounder, mullet, anchovy. In addition to the above, favorite delicacies are squid, shellfish and crustaceans.

The amount of food required by adult animals is estimated at 4-5% of body weight, for nursing mothers - about 8%. It is known that beluga whales need 25-30 kg of fish per day, while bottlenose dolphins need 10-15 kg of fish products per day.

Due to the fact that dolphins are considered hunters, when feeding in dolphinariums you need to make sure that the food (prey) can move. But in captivity they are accustomed to frozen products. The favorite food for dolphins in this habitat remains squid and fish.

Dolphins have a wide range of sounds. There are several dozen of them, they are carried far into the sea and thereby help animals communicate with each other. There are moans, squeaks, whistles, clicking, chirping... You might ask, what sound do dolphins make when they eat? While eating, a sound is made - meowing.

How do dolphins get food?

The food acquisition strategy of dolphins is varied. Most often, hunting occurs in the daytime, only when there is a shortage of fish, hunting is necessary at night. Not the entire flock participates in night fishing, but only some individuals, catching seabed are nocturnal.

While hunting in the open sea, a pod of dolphins tries to surround and compact it. Then they enter it one after another and get their fill of food. When food production occurs close to the coast, animals drive their trophy into shallow water, closer to land. On big fish They sometimes hunt alone, using their tail to throw prey over the water, catch it in their mouths, or drown it.

Dolphins are considered good hunters. They have a special structure of fins and skin, as well as a streamlined body shape. Thanks to these features, anaphiles can swim very quickly, not inferior to even the most nimble inhabitants of sea and ocean waters. The maximum speed is up to 40 km per hour, the diving depth of some species of dolphins is about 260 meters. Probably everyone knows their jumps; in the horizontal direction they are able to “fly” about 9 meters, in the vertical direction - about 5 meters.

The most amazing facts from the life of dolphins

An incredible but true romantic fact from the life of animals: scientists who studied dolphins saw how males presented gifts to their chosen ones in order to earn their favor. The bouquet was ordinary seaweed.

The dolphin's cerebral cortex has twice as many convolutions as that of humans.

Scientists have noticed that there are close connections between dolphins in a school. They treat the elderly and relatives with care, and do not leave the wounded and sick in trouble. A female dolphin comes to the aid of another female if difficulties arise during childbirth.

The dolphin is one of the most mysterious and interesting mammals living on our planet. It has been known since ancient times that these mammals can save drowning people and disperse oculi that gather near a person.

In particular, dolphins love children. The main advantages of this species of mammals are their friendliness, sociability or desire to establish some kind of contact with humans. Today we will discuss the topic of where do dolphins live what they eat and how captivity weakens them.

How and where do dolphins live?

The habitat of dolphins can be called the places where they live. Their place of residence can be found in any region of the globe. Here, everything will depend on the type of dolphin, some of them can live only in certain places. One of the species of dolphins is bottlenose dolphin or simply big dolphin.

Bottlenose dolphins are very common and can be seen in many places. Enough a large number of bottlenose dolphins are found in the waters of the Pacific, Indian and Atlantic Oceans, they can be seen in seas such as the Mediterranean, Red and, of course, Black. The habitats of various types of dolphins can be close to the coastline, or right in the ocean shelf zone.

Migration of dolphins seems to be a frequent occurrence, which is associated with the search for an additional source of food. In the same case, if in any area there is enough food for these mammals, then they take root there for a very long time.

For example, consider the bottlenose dolphin. They are almost always close to the coastline and rarely migrate. It depends on the amount of food near the shore, and most often it is there in great abundance. Bottlenose dolphins are exactly the type of dolphin that many people are accustomed to imagining. Bottlenose dolphins can often be seen near the coastline, and this type of dolphin can be seen in almost all dolphinariums. Many people who do not think about this issue may have the impression that all dolphins live exactly like bottlenose dolphins, but this is a mistaken opinion.

In fact, many dolphins migrate, especially those that live in the ocean shelf and have a completely different habitat. Most often, they travel in flocks and choose the right routes to find the required water temperature and sufficient amount of food. Dolphins have the ability to swim hundreds of kilometers to find a source of food.

Video story

Dolphin feeding

Most often, dolphins look for fish of the following species as food:

• mackerel
• mullet
• cod
• herring, etc.

Sometimes, when there are no fish, they feed on squid. The diet of dolphins will depend entirely on what fish are available in the area, as well as what season they migrated here.

Dolphins can live not only in various seas and oceans, but also their “habitat” may be captivity, i.e. various dolphinariums. Never before has man been given so many opportunities for open communication with these mammals. Here you can touch them, feed them and, of course, swim with them. But people, most often, simply do not understand how the dolphins themselves suffer under these conditions, because many of them were caught, and thereby torn out of their natural habitat.

Dolphins are quite smart and have high level intelligence, which is very difficult to develop in captivity. Scientists have long provided a lot of evidence that keeping dolphins in captivity causes them great suffering and greatly reduces their life expectancy. So, in the wild, a dolphin can live up to 50-60 years, but in captivity its life expectancy will be reduced to 30 years.

Currently, many organizations have been created that promote the protection of dolphins and are ardent opponents of all existing dolphinariums.

Now you know how where do dolphins live! We hope that the information presented was interesting for you.

Dolphins are deservedly considered the most amazing creatures in the whole world! In the soul of any person, even someone who is far from receptive, they are capable of causing a storm of emotions. Dolphins are intelligent, friendly and sensitive creatures, and today is World Whale and Dolphin Day. Therefore, this post is about them.

Who are dolphins? We all know that dolphins are small whales. Like other cetaceans, dolphins breathe air rather than through gills. They never leave the sea; their young are born here. Their mother feeds them with milk, so dolphins are classified as mammals. They are warm-blooded. They have sharp teeth and their head ends in a mouth like a bird's beak. The main food of dolphins is fish, shellfish and small sea animals. Regular dolphins are about 1.6 meters long. They have a large mouth with 80-100 teeth. They are black or gray on top, and their belly is white with black fins. Porpoises belong to the same family as dolphins. The harbor porpoise, which lives at all latitudes from Greenland to North Africa, is one of the most peaceful dolphins. In addition to fish, she eats crustaceans and even algae. Therefore, she tries to stay in shallow water, where there is a lot of food for her.

Dolphin sense of smell. Many important secrets of dolphins have not yet been fully studied and explained by researchers. Researchers made many mistakes on the way to studying living beings, unwittingly comparing the object of their research with a person. Such mistakes were once made when studying the olfactory apparatus of dolphins. Considering the sense of smell of dolphins with an eye to the olfactory mechanisms inherent in other mammals, and, in particular, humans, a hasty and not entirely correct conclusion was made that the sense of smell does not play a significant role in the life of dolphins. For a long time it was believed that short-term diving of dolphins can hardly be sufficient for analyzing odors using the nasal passage, which during diving and being under water is generally closed and does not allow the dolphin to sense odors in the water. Based on these statements, erroneous conclusions were drawn about the underdevelopment of the olfactory organs in dolphins, and these conclusions are currently being revised. Observations of dolphins living both in aquariums and in natural environment showed that dolphins not only leave odorous traces of their presence in the water, but also instantly react to traces left by other inhabitants of the water. The mechanisms and receptors responsible for the perception of odorant signals require serious study, and research in this area can radically change our understanding of the life of sea inhabitants.

Legends about dolphins. There are many myths and legends about dolphins. They tell how these animals helped sailors in trouble and rescued those who were drowning. I want to tell you one of the legends about the eternally young god Dionysus, who in Ancient Greece was considered the god of entertainment and holidays. One day, sea robbers managed to capture him. However, they did not know that they had captured not an ordinary young man, but a god. In their plans they already saw a good ransom for the captive who they were going to sell into slavery. However, when the robbers tried to put Dionysus in chains, they failed; the shackles themselves fell off his hands and feet. The pirates were at a loss, but when they saw that wine was flowing across the deck out of nowhere, and the masts of their ship began to be covered with ivy and vines, they realized that in front of them was the god Dionysus himself. From the horror of what they had done, the robbers rushed in all directions into the open sea to escape the wrath of God. However, Dionysus decided that they did not deserve to die in the depths of the sea and did not let them drown. Instead, he turned them into dolphins. Another legend tells us that Apollo, another god of Ancient Greece, could himself turn into a dolphin. One day he saved a wandering ship of Cretan sailors and helped him get to the shore, accompanying the ship and showing him the right path. Now, in the place where the dolphin-god of sailors led, a city called Delphi is founded. Once upon a time, by the way, in Delphi there was famous temple Apollo. It is interesting that some tribes and peoples have legends associated with dolphins, which they believe in to this day. For example, in one African tribe they firmly believe that pink dolphins living in the waters of the Amazon River are capable of turning into young men of unprecedented beauty on a full moon who seduce young and inexperienced girls. Other African tribe believes that the soul of a drowned person is reborn in a dolphin, which at a certain moment is also able to turn into a young man.

"Conversation" of dolphins. Marine mammals are far from silent. It has now turned out that all whales make sounds, but dolphins turned out to be the most “talkative”. They use sound signals of a wide variety of frequencies. The ultrasounds they produce serve mainly for echolocation. In the language of dolphins, whistles are very important, which are used in different situations, expressing a whole range of feelings. They are very diverse in their characteristics - each dolphin has its own manner of “speech”. Therefore, dolphins in a group recognize each other by the nature of their whistle. In addition, dolphins have sounds that we hear without special devices. They are also quite varied. This includes barking, squealing, chirping, as well as howling, clicking and grunting. The biological meaning of many signals has not yet been clarified, but some sounds have been deciphered. For example, flapping jaws is a signal of threat, a signal such as a loud squeal is strong pain, yelping is an expectation of food, and a sound such as barking is a “conversation” between males and females during the mating season. Dolphins are good at imitating foreign sounds, and the famous dolphin Elvar could even pronounce some human words. Based on work with dolphins, some scientists have concluded that they can be taught meaningful human speech.

Is dialogue with dolphins possible? Among all the animals inhabiting the globe, we consider only humans to be intelligent creatures. But there are animals about which we can also say that they are endowed with intelligence. These are dolphins. Their brains are larger and richer in convolutions than humans. The intelligence of these animals is evidenced by numerous facts of dolphins saving people. And it turns out that dolphins possess “language,” one of the evidence of the presence of intelligence. With its help, they transmit a wide variety of information to each other. If people learned to understand this “language,” perhaps they would be able to unravel many of the mysteries of the ocean. Domestic and foreign scientists have discovered many patterns in the “language” of dolphins. They found that when communicating with each other, marine “intellectuals” use several hundred diverse and complex sound signals. Interestingly, in normal conversation we use the same number of words. Experts analyzed the “tongue” of dolphins and found that it is built approximately the same as human speech. Unfortunately, so far scientists’ attempts to decipher the “language” of dolphins have ended in failure. But if we can't exchange thoughts, why don't we try to communicate on the level of feelings?

Sea acrobats. Representatives of the dolphin family are among the most sociable and friendly members of the animal kingdom. In total, 40 species of dolphin-like animals live in the World Ocean. The two most famous representatives dolphins - bottlenose dolphin And common dolphin, or common dolphin. Bottlenose dolphins are especially numerous off the eastern coast of the United States, as well as in the Mediterranean and Black Seas. Common dolphins live in temperate and warm waters Pacific Ocean. The length of the bottlenose dolphin is from two to three meters. Usually the color is dark brown on top, turning white on the belly. Apparently, the dolphins of ancient myths are bottlenose dolphins. Nowadays, it is the bottlenose dolphin that is most often used for experiments than other species. During the Vietnam War, the Americans used specially trained bottlenose dolphins to mine bays and piers. The common dolphin is smaller in size than the bottlenose dolphin. Its length is about 2.5 meters, its sides are covered with brown, yellow and white stripes. The dark stripe bordering the eyes and disappearing on the beak gives the white sided a very cute appearance. Whitetails love to accompany ships. They jump out of the water or swim, almost standing on the tail fin and peer into the distance. Seeing the ship, they surround it from all sides and, as if welcoming the sailors, begin to jump high out of the water. Squirrels can swim tirelessly for tens of kilometers and perform various acrobatic stunts for hours.

Interesting Facts from the life of dolphins. Of course, it’s no secret that dolphins are one of the most mysterious species of animals on our Earth. Their intelligence is considered so high that they can be compared to humans. Dolphins always help each other and never abandon their fellow creatures in trouble. In this way they are very similar to people; they are characterized by mutual assistance and self-sacrifice. Dolphins' hearing is unique; it operates on the principle of an echolocator. They can determine the distance of an object, its size, shape by reflected sounds. Therefore, in the water space they navigate more through hearing than through vision. They can eat up to 30 kilograms of fish per day. This is very important because they are warm-blooded animals and they need to maintain a constant body temperature in any water, even very cold. And their body temperature is quite high. It is also interesting how dolphins sleep. It is easy to drown in the sea or become a victim of other predators. And in this regard, the sleep of dolphins is not similar to the sleep of ordinary animals. During sleep, one hemisphere of the dolphin rests, and the second is awake, that is, vigilant. Therefore, the dolphin is always in control of the situation and at the same time resting. The life of dolphins is not very long, only about 30 years, in more rare cases - 40-45. Replenishment of the dolphin family occurs approximately every two years. Dolphins can be compared to penguins in that they are very touching parents who protect, teach and care for their young for about five years.

The uniqueness of dolphins. Dolphins are mysterious and very intelligent animals. They have a unique hearing of two types. They see equally well in water and in air - this ability has also not yet been solved. Dolphins are very fast animals - they reach speeds of up to 55 kilometers per hour. They are exceptionally intelligent. They are much easier to train than dogs. Two or three shows are enough for them. Dolphins carefully take fish from a plate, catch it in flight and take it from the trainer’s hands, jumping to a height of more than four meters. They serve things thrown into the water, jump through a hoop engulfed in flames, play basketball and water polo, throwing balls with great accuracy. They perfectly imitate the human voice, pronouncing entire phrases. The ability to imitate is much higher in dolphins than in parrots. In ancient legends different nations dolphins' ability to save drowning people was praised. There are several real cases known. These are in print real cases explained by the “humanity” and friendliness of dolphins towards humans. In fact, these actions are most likely based on an inherited reaction. Because dolphins are social creatures, they live in families. Typically, the family is led by a female dolphin, and this is beneficial as the young dolphins grow up. And during the trip, several families unite to create a higher level of protection.

Dolphins' ability to heal wounds. Nature hides great wonders from us. Consider the amazing abilities of dolphins that were discovered Michael Zaslow, researcher Georgetown medical center. Recently, in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology, the scientist published his article in which he talked about documented cases of serious injuries to dolphins, which they most likely received in fights with sharks. The deep bites, which could be compared to a basketball, healed very quickly, literally in weeks. At the same time, they almost did not bring any pain to the dolphins, and did not leave scars after healing. Some surprising features work together to enhance the dolphins' recovery abilities. The first of these is the ability not to experience bleeding. Zaslow said marine mammals have the ability to trigger a mechanism that stops blood flow to parts of the body. Secondly, during the healing process of the wounds, the dolphin does not show any signs of infection. Researchers have discovered that the skin and fat layer of animals contain antibacterial compounds that can stop infection in open wounds. “Within a few weeks, dolphins can replace all of the lost tissue, even the size of two footballs, without any defects or scars on the body,” says Zaslow. They have the ability to harness the regenerative abilities of specialized stem cells, such as those found in many amphibians, which can grow new legs.

Thus, science knows that there is a unique animal in the world that has developed and continues to develop in the waters of the ocean without arms and legs. This animal is able to swim much faster than us, and it has an intelligence that is likely equal in complexity to human emotional and social abilities. In addition, this animal has healing powers to restore its own body. This is a dolphin.