NATIONAL DOLPHIN DAY

Each year on April 14th, people across the nation, celebrate National Dolphin Day.

Dolphins are cetacean mammals that are related to whales and porpoises. Ranging is size from 4 ft to up to 30 ft, dolphins are among almost forty species in 17 genera. Found worldwide, they prefer shallower seas of the continental shelves.

As carnivores, their diet consists of mostly fish and squid.

Male dolphin – bull
Female dolphin – cow
Young dolphin – calf
Group of dolphins – school or pod

Dolphins are known to have acute eyesight both in and out of the water along with having a well-developed sense of touch, with free nerve endings densely packed in the skin. They can hear frequencies ten time or more above the upper limit of what adult humans can hear and are capable of making a broad range of sounds using nasal air sacs located just below the blowhole.

Living in pods of up to a dozen, dolphins are highly social animals. Pods do merge together in areas where there is an abundance of food, forming super-pods, which may exceed 1,000 dolphins. Dolphins can, and do, establish strong bonds within their pods and will stay with injured or ill individuals, even helping them to breathe by bringing them to the surface if needed.

You will see the dolphins frequently leaping above the waters surface. They leap for various reasons; when traveling, jumping saves them energy as there is less friction while in the air, this is known as porpoising. Some other reasons for leaping include orientation, social display, fighting, non-verbal communication, entertainment and attempting to dislodge parasites.

The United States National Marine Mammal Foundation conducted a study that revealed that dolphins, like humans, develop a natural form of type 2 diabetes which may lead to a better understanding of the disease and new treatments for both humans and dolphins.

~~NATIONAL DOLPHIN DAY HISTORY~~

National Dolphin Day, an “unofficial” national holiday, is listed as part of the American Veterinary Medical Association Pet Health Awareness Events.

Top Facts about Dolphins

There is no doubt that dolphins are one of the most interesting forms of aquatic life out there. They are easy to recognize and you likely already know they are very smart. Yet there are plenty of great facts about them that you may not know. That will all change though when you get done reading this!

The dolphin is the only mammal that gives birth with the tail first instead of the head.
Dolphins don’t smell very well.
Young dolphins will remain with their mother for a period of 2 or 3 years.
There are two stomachs for dolphins just like for cows. The first one stores the food for them and the second one is where digestion takes place.
A dolphin may be able to dive up to 1,000 feet.
The dorsal fin on every dolphin is very unique and it can be used to identify them from each other.
Dolphins can swim at a speed of up to 25 miles per hour for a long time. This is about 3 times faster than the fastest humans in the world.
The average lifespan of a dolphin is 17 years. However, some of them that have been observed in the wild lived about 50 years.
Most species of dolphins live in saltwater but some of them thrive in freshwater.
A dolphin needs to get air at different intervals. Some need air every 20 seconds but others only need it every 30 minutes.
A group of dolphins is called a pod.
The bonds of dolphins in a pod are very intense. They have been observed carrying for the sick, the elderly, and those that have been injured with great care.
Even though they are usually very mild tempered, dolphins can be aggressive.
They are able to see well in the water due to the retina gathering light in a unique way.
The brain of a dolphin is #2 is terms of size compared to its body size. It is only behind the human.
It is possible for a mature dolphin to eat up to 30 pounds of fish daily.
There are about 100 teeth in the mouth of a dolphin. They use the teeth to grab their prey but they don’t chew it. All food is swallowed whole.
Up to 20 feet in the air is the distance that a dolphin can leap.
The Killer Whale is the largest member of the dolphin family. They can be up to 30 feet in length.
The skin of the dolphin is very delicate and it can easily be damaged by contact with other surfaces.
The Boto is the largest of the dolphins that can live in freshwater. They can be up to 10 feet long.
Dolphins often use a hunting tactic of circling the fish in a school so that they make a tight ball. Then they will take turns going through the center of the ball to feed as they do so.
Only one side of the dolphin’s brain sleeps at a time. This allows them to be able to breathe and to be able to watch for threats even while they are resting.
Dolphins enjoy socializing and playing. They play with seaweed or with other members of the pod. Sometimes, they will tease other living creatures in the water.
Global warming continues to be a problem for dolphins as it has reduced their food supply significantly.
Dolphins can be migrational for food and to get to bodies of water that are the right temperatures for them. Not all pods of dolphins will migrate though if their needs are being met right where they are.
Dolphins are known to engage in a variety of different feeding methods in order to be successful.
Most of them involved cooperation and being in sync with other pod members. It is very rarely that they will try to get food on their own.
The smallest dolphins are about 4 feet long with the longest being 30 feet long. They can weigh from 90 pounds to more than 11 tons.
The fluke is the name for the tail on a dolphin.
Echolocation is a big part of overall communication for dolphins. It occurs through the melon in the head.
All dolphins have a blowhole at the top where they take in air when they come to the surface.
Almost all dolphins have no hair other than a few that they have at birth. Only the Boto River Dolphin has a small amount of hair that they will keep as an adult.
They have a fast healing process for their bodies even when they have deep wounds such as those that are the result of shark bites. Experts haven’t been able to determine how this is possible for dolphins when other mammals would hemorrhage.

~~SOURCES~~

http://dolphinproject.org/

Ric O’Barry’s Dolphin Project is a campaign under the International Marine Mammal Project at the non-profit Earth Island Institute. The Dolphin Project aims to stop dolphin slaughter and exploitation around the world. This work has been chronicled in films such as A Fall From Freedom, the Oscar-winning documentary The Cove, and in the Animal Planet mini-series Blood Dolphin$.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolphin

http://www.dolphins-world.com/dolphin-facts/

http://dolphinproject.org/take-action/dolphins-in-captivity

http://news.discovery.com/animals/dolphin-intelligence-explained.htm

~TAKE THE PLEDGE NOT TO BUY A TICKET TO A DOLPHIN SHOW~

Dolphins have evolved over millions of years, adapting perfectly to life in the ocean. They are intelligent, social and self-aware, exhibiting evidence of a highly developed emotional sense. Here are just a few of the issues with captivity:

Captures of dolphins are traumatic and stressful and can result in injury and death of dolphins. The number of dolphins that die during capture operations or shortly thereafter are never revealed in dolphinariums or swim-with-dolphins programs. Some facilities even claim their dolphins were “rescued” from the ocean and cannot be released. This claim is almost invariably false.

Training of dolphins is often deliberately misrepresented by the captive dolphin industry to make it look as if dolphins perform because they like it. This isn’t the case. They are performing because they have been deprived of food.

Most captive dolphins are confined in minuscule tanks containing chemically treated artificial seawater. Dolphins in a tank are severely restricted in using their highly developed sonar, which is one of the most damaging aspects of captivity. It is much like forcing a person to live in a hall of mirrors for the rest of their life – their image always bouncing back with no clear direction in sight.

Join us and pledge that you won’t go to a dolphin show or swim-with-dolphins programs.

Click Here to join the petition.

Click Here to check out the interview with Dr. Lori Marino on dolphin intelligence.