The dolphin is an animal that lives in the ocean and is very popular due to its particular appearance; dolphins are often shown in dolphinariums in which they perform very showy tricks and pirouettes, since they are animals with great intelligence.
Most people know what a dolphin looks like, they know more or less what they eat and the group to which they belong, and however, there are certain things about dolphins that not everyone knows. For example, they do not know what their habitat really is, their subgroup, their relationship with the environment, their mode of reproduction…
But luckily, we know about all the characteristics of dolphins. In today’s article I will tell you everything you need to know about dolphins, so you can know it too and impress your friends and family about your dolphin knowledge.
What do you need for a dolphin?
- Have love for dolphins and animals in general.
Instructions for a dolphin
- Nutrition: Dolphins are carnivorous animals, that is, they eat other animals to survive. The diet is mainly based on crustaceans, small fish and mollusks such as octopus and squid. Dolphins do not drink water; therefore their hydration system consists of making the most of the liquids contained in the food they consume, a system similar to that of desert animals. An example of this system is your urine, in which a large concentration of waste is produced in a small amount of water, therefore you do not need to urinate much and therefore hardly lose any water.
- Physical characteristics: The shape of the dolphin does not need to be explained, since we all know it, with its elongated beak, round head and comma-like shape. For the rest, say that a dolphin measures between 3 and 9 meters (although they seem so small in the photos) and can weigh up to an impressive 300 kilos. As for their classification, dolphins are not fish, but rather mammals, specifically from the cetacean family in which there are also other aquatic mammals such as killer whales, whales…
- Relationship with the environment: The dolphin is one of the most intelligent animals that exist, it is believed that they have intelligence similar to that of human beings and that is why shows are held with them. Dolphins live in large groups of between 200 and 1500 dolphins since they collaborate to get food and protect each other. To communicate with each other they use whistles, movements with their tails, dances… As far as the preferred habitat is indifferent, the only requirement is that there is an abundant amount of food. The dolphin breathes through lungs and from time to time it must come to the surface to catch air and breathe.
- Reproduction: The dolphin is a viviparous animal, that is, the young are born from the mother’s womb instead of in eggs. The dolphin has a sexual reproduction for the development of the zygote, then the fetus will remain more than a year in the mother’s womb to give birth to a calf (normally there are no multiple births). Dolphin calves feed on breast milk like all mammals until they reach adulthood, when they feed on fish.
- Threats: The main threat to the dolphin is human beings, since we take them out of their habitat to perform acrobatics and we dump waste into the sea. Apart from that they may have problems with some sharks or killer whales, but they are usually one of the animals that are at the top of the food chain.
Tips for a dolphin
- Sex for pleasure r: As a curiosity to say that dolphins are one of the few animal species that have sex for simple pleasure. Normally, animals only practice sexual intercourse for reproductive purposes since their brain development is limited and they have not developed advanced reasoning abilities that allow them to have the intention of having sex for pleasure. However, dolphins due to their great cranial capacity, if they have managed to reason and want to have sex for pleasure, the proof is that they have sex even before they are able to have offspring, which is why it is shown that the brain of the dolphin is one of the most developed of all known species on planet earth.
- See the dolphins: Although it is a bit cruel for them, it is always nice to see them go to the dolphinarium to see a dolphin show. It is incredible to see how they obey orders and are capable of performing spectacular pirouettes effortlessly.
