Did you know in the world there are more than 90 species of whales, dolphins, and porpoises? (WDC) The dolphin is a very important animal to the ocean and there are many different types to discover. In order to learn about dolphins, it is important to discuss where they live, their appearance, and what they eat. Some helpful words to understand are “dorsal fin”, a dorsal fin is the top pointed fin on the dolphins back, “flippers”, a flipper is a flat fin that dolphins use to swim, and “echolocation” is a tool dolphins use to find food by sounds bouncing off of objects (dictionary.com).
However, the Indo-Pacific Humpback Dolphin is a very unique type of dolphin.
According to Chan and Karczmarski on page 2, the Indo-Pacific Humpback Dolphin
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When Indo-Pacific Humpback Dolphins are first born, they are dark gray and get lighter as they grow older, sometimes this will cause spots (WCD). According to Whitfield on page 114, when the Indo-Pacific Humpback dolphin is young it has a normal streamlined body figure, but when it grows older it start to form fatty tissue humps. They have the average lifespan of 40 years (WCD). The Indo-Pacific dolphin can be between 6 ½ feet to 10 feet long with 120 teeth in their long beak. Using their long beak to eat, these dolphins swim up to the shallow waters and hunt for fish (Whitfield 114). Indo-Pacific dolphins are not the only type of dolphins that pray on the …show more content…
These dolphins are the type of dolphins common people would see at the Zoo or on a T.V. programed performance. Like the Common Dolphins, the Atlantic Bottle-Nosed Dolphins are highly skillful echolocators. They can produce a range of sounds, like a click, using it to analyze any object around them in the ocean (Whitfield 114). According to Whitfield on page 114, they can produce up to 100 clicks a second. They will use these clicks to also find food. They mainly eat Bottom-dwelling fish in inshore waters or surface swimming fish. They can do many other objects with their echolocation finder and using their
One of the most common dolphins that are found in southern California is the bottlenose dolphin (Kelly). The bottlenose dolphin is mainly found in coastal waters between 45 degrees north and 45 degrees south, also in Northern Europe waters. It is believed that there are two types of bottlenose dolphin regional wise: oceanic form and coastal form. This species is studied the most by biologists (Jefferson). The coastal population lives in fairly open groups with twenty or less in a pod, some groups are found to contain more in open ocean. It is not uncommon for these species to interact and breed with other species, as would a human interact with other diverse humans. The dolphins feeding behavior is adapted to the availability of resources. They sometimes are known to work together to catch fish from large schools, they also trail behind large fishing boats to catch what falls behind (Leatherwood).
Heading out through the heads of Port Stephens to an area called Gravel Patch the excitement builds as everyone on the 15m catamaran Imagine wants to be the first to spot a pod. Andrew Parker, founder of Dolphin Swim Australia, says the dolphins are just as excited when they see humans.
A unique feature the Humpback whale has is its very big flipper or fin. It has one of the biggest whale flippers, which can be found on planet earth. The flipper is used to change
Orcinus orca is the scientific name for the massive marine mammal. Orcas are not rare, but have declining numbers in some areas (Martin.) Orcas are found from the Artic Ocean to the Antartic Ocean. (Britannica) They belong to the Delphinidae, or dolphin family, which is the largest of their species. Female orcas grow to be at the most 15 feet, and weigh up to 4 tons, but the males can grow as large as 20-30 feet, and weight up to 8 tons. (Martin) The color of the orca is white in some spots, black on the majority of the body, and gray just behind the dorsal fin. It is white on the chin, belly and the eye. The white patch above the eye is usually mistaken for the eye, and may confuse their prey, but acts as a camouflage for the eye. The name “killer whale” makes people tend to believe that this is a viscious man-eating mammal, yet it is one of the most shrewd, docile and playful species of the marine mammals. The orca is sexually mature at 10-15 years of age, much like humans, which is 12-13 years of age. They tend to mate year round, and is able to have a calf every two years. It is interesting to know that lactation of the mother lasts 12 or more months (Wynne.) The life expectancy of orcas is 45-50 years of age.
Orca whales are the largest members of the dolphin family. Orcas are very curious creatures, they like to sky hop, which is when they poke their heads out of the water and look around, and they can also dive to as much as a hundred feet. These social animals live in pods and stay with them for their whole lives. They are so family oriented that they can may sleep together in a tight circle and have synchronized breathing. Orcas can grow up to thirty-two feet and can weigh nine tons. They typically eat five percent of their body weight and are amazing hunters. The lifespan of an orca in their natural habitat is about fifty years. This lifestyle for them is wonderful because they can swim as far as they want to and are free. Orcas should not be held captive because the capture process is dangerous, it is not good for their health, and their trainers are at risk. Free Willy. Dir Simon Wincer. 1993.Video. Warner Bros Home Video
They are the second smartest animal in the world. They nurture their young for most of their lives. They also socialise with any creature, unless they show signs of harm. Dolphins make very popular playmates and will come up to humans for almost anything. They rely on each other to live. They learn quickly and communicate well with one another. God designed dolphins with unique physical features and behaviors in order to glorify Him.
Bottlenose dolphins became part of a United States Navy program in 1959 for the purpose of conducting scientific research into their sonar and hydrodynamics in hopes of getting design ideas for submarines, ship hulls and weapons. It was discovered dolphins hear and navigate in the water by using their natural sonar, which happened to be more precise than most fabricated sonar systems. In the mid-sixties, Navy dolphins were used as mail carriers to underwater laboratories in their home of San Diego, California.
Bottle-nosed dolphins are generally coastal creatures, occurring along almost all tropical and temperate coasts, although offshore varieties also occur. In addition, the Bottle-nosed dolphin is called the "all-ocean" dolphin, meaning that it lives in every ocean. It is common for a school of 20 dolphins to live together in coastal regions, but school of 200 dolphins are found in the offshore verities. These schools do not seem to have a leader and generally stay together for life.
they look at the dorsal fin. Each pod of whales has its own individual type of dorsal fin. In some
The origin of modern day whales, a mystery that has puzzled paleontologists for years, may have just been solved with the discovery of an ankle bone. This discovery might sound simple and unimportant, but the bones of these ancient animals hold many unanswered questions and provide solid proof of origin and behavior. The relationship between whales and other animals has proven to be difficult because whales are warm-blooded, like humans, yet they live in the sea. The fact that they are warm-blooded suggests that they are related to some type of land animal. However, the questions of exactly which animal, and how whales evolved from land to water, have remained unanswered until now.
Cetaceans are thought to be some of the most intelligent species on this planet. Popular culture has embraced the idea of cetacean intelligence with shows such as the 1960s hit TV series Flipper, where a dolphin is used to help fight crime. In his comedic science fiction novels, the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, author Douglas Adams suggests that dolphins are the second most intelligent creatures on Earth, behind mice and above humans. Although most scientists would probably argue that humans are the most intelligent species, the behavior and brain size of dolphins and other cetaceans suggests that they too are intelligent. This paper will briefly describe the reason some scientists believe cetaceans are intelligent species and then give examples of scientific studies, which suggest cetacean intelligence. Since bottlenose dolphins and orcas are the most widely studied cetaceans, the survey of field studies will primarily focus on these two species. At the end, this paper provides an argument of why some scientists discredit the high degree of cetacean intelligence.
The morphology of whale sharks is mostly similar to aquatic fish species, but many specific traits help differentiate them from the rest. Whale sharks are the largest fish in the world and can reach a size of around 20 meters (Martins, C., and C. Knickle). This is often compared to the size of a school bus. The shark has a very large transverse mouth. They have 5 very large gill slits and have a larger first dorsal fin compared to the second one (Whale Shark). They have a distinctive spotted “checkerboard” pattern with stripes (Martins, C., and C. Knickle). It is not exactly known why they have this specific body marking. It is believed that the body markings act as a camouflage. The strange thing about whale sharks is that they have 300 rows of teeth that play no role in feeding (Martins, C., and C. Knickle).
The Humpback Whale, Megaptera novaeangliae, is part of the marine mammals group. They are found in oceans all over the world, they live in open waters. Even though they are mammals, they do not live on land (Monterey Bay Aquarium). Humpback whales are known for their magical song that can travel great distances. These gentle giants are omnivores, their main diet is krill. They are mostly found near coastlines feeding on tiny shrimp-like krill, plankton and small fish. Humpbacks migrate annually from summer feeding grounds near the poles to warmer winter breeding water closer to the Equator. Humpback whales are powerful swimmers, and they use their massive tail fin, called a fluke to propel themselves through or even out of the water! Mothers and their young swim close together, often touching one another with their flippers with what appears to be gestures of affection. Even though it takes more than one year for a humpback whale to grow fully, mother whales leave them after one year (National Geographic).
Dolphins are well known for their agility and playful behavior in the wildlife of all the oceans in the world. They have many characteristics, and also there are a variety of different types and kinds of dolphins, which make them very intelligent creatures. Dolphins are smart marine mammals and great swimmers. They are known to be very friendly to humans and other wildlife creatures, dolphins often display a playful attitude which makes them popular to human nature and the culture. They can be seen jumping out of the water,riding waves, play fighting and occasionally interacting with people swimming in the water. Dolphins love hanging along the sea shores of all beaches around the coast, where it is warm and tropical(Fun dolphin facts).Dolphins are believed to be the most intelligent animals on earth
One particularly interesting sea creature is the whale shark, formally known as Rhincondon typus it was first discovered in 1828 by Andrew Smith (Rowat 2012). This large fish is found globally in warm tropical oceans and prefers to stay within 200 meters of the ocean’s surface in waters ranging from 4.2 to 28.7 degrees Celsius (Stevens 2006). This creature can be found all across the globe in any warm tropical seas. Aggregations of whale sharks have been seen off the coast of Australia at times, although it is primarily a creature of solitude. Whale sharks are filter feeders that consume plankton as well as small fish and are harmless to humans. The whale shark is a species with a fascinating ecology, life history, behavior, anatomy