10 Interesting Dolphin Facts You Need To Know

Dolphins are one of the fascinating creatures in the world. Not only are dolphins known to be friendly, but they are also thought to be one of the friendliest creatures as well. As a result, they are also one of the most popular ocean creatures all over the world. With their jolly attitude, friendly demeanor, and incredible acrobatic skills, they are simply mother nature’s finest creations.

However, not many people know the background of dolphins, yet they still admire them for their behavior and cheerfulness. Surprisingly, there are still many things people don’t know about dolphins, and with our help, we’ll give you some interesting dolphin facts you need to know. 

Dolphin Facts: 10 Interesting Things You Need To Know

Dolphins are everywhere

Almost all species of dolphins inhabit all types of aquatic environments. From coastal beaches, estuarine, oceans, and even freshwater! They can also thrive in temperatures less than 0°C to more than 30°C. 

Bottlenose dolphins are concentrated around Britain, in countries such as Eastern Scotland and West Wales. Furthermore, Scotland is home to the northern pod of bottlenose dolphins around the world. 

They are quite like humans

Similar to us humans, dolphins give live birth to their offspring. However, unlike us humans, the baby dolphin’s tail comes first. Depending on the species of dolphin, they have a gestation period of around 9 to 17 months. Once they have given birth, they are quite the mother, as they help their young help breathe out on the surface. 

Researchers have also observed that mother dolphins are caring mothers; they often found mother dolphins cuddling and nestling their young ones. 

Extraordinary senses

Although dolphins don’t have a sense of smell, they make up for it with their other senses extraordinarily. Whether it be in or out of the water, they have an impressive sense of sight. Dolphins also have a good sense of touch. 

Their hearing sense is quite impressive, and they can hear frequencies ten times that of a human. Dolphins use echolocation, which helps them pinpoint locations and locate things far away from their reach by using echoes and sound waves.

Dolphins are warm-blooded

Dolphins regulate their body temperature. So, even if the water is too cold, they can stay warm. Some bodies of water, especially near the Northern Pacific ocean, can be extremely cold. Being a warm-blooded animal is a great advantage for their survival. 

One of the good things about being a warm-blooded animal is you aren’t prone to infections and other health conditions most animals encounter when they have to deal with extremely cold temperatures. 

Dolphins are mammals

Although dolphins swim like a fish and traverse through the ocean depths gracefully, they are not fish. Just like whales, manatees, seals, dolphins are mammals too! What makes dolphins mammals? They don’t rely on gills. Instead, they rely on their lungs to breathe. As listed earlier, they give birth to live offspring and mainly produce milk to feed their young. 

Another thing that makes dolphin mammals grow hair and be warm-blooded. As mentioned earlier, they can regulate their body temperatures even if their environment is extremely cold. 

Dolphins have lungs, not gills

Another distinct feature of being a marine mammal has lungs instead of gills. Like whales and other marine mammals, they need to come to the surface to replenish their air supply. Therefore, their blowholes close whenever they venture into the depths and open whenever they come out of the surface to breathe. 

Marine mammals have adapted in a way that they can exchange 80% of the air in their lungs with a single breath. In context, humans can only convert 17% of air; impressive, isn’t it? Also, almost all marine mammals have great oxygen tanks, as they can store oxygen in their body parts such as the lungs, muscles, and even blood! By being able to store oxygen in different body parts, it makes them efficient divers of the ocean! 

Dolphins have lungs, not gills

Dolphins are considered to be one of the most intelligent creatures in the world. What sets them apart is their impressive cognitive skills; their intelligence combines communication, problem-solving, and perception. Thanks to their echolocation skills, just with a few clicks, they can immediately find other dolphins or other species and prey upon other creatures. 

Another thing about their echolocation is their ability to hunt even in lowlight conditions; even if it gets dark, they make finding prey easy. 

Impressive communicating ability

Dolphins are highly sociable creatures, and one of the fascinating things about dolphins is how well they communicate with other dolphins. They have three ways of communicating, echolocation, squeaks, and social communication. In addition, dolphins find ways to communicate with other dolphins, such as slapping the water with their tails, whistles, and clicks. 

Dolphins only have a few enemies

Naturally, dolphins only have a few enemies. However, humans are their primary threat to their survival. Extensive fishing, polluted waters, destruction of coral reefs and targeted fishing contribute to the overall decline of dolphins over the years. 

Through the years, laws are passed to preserve and protect these amazing creatures. But, sadly, there are still human activities that contribute to the decline of dolphins, such as bycatches and seasonal exhibits, that should be put to an end. 

Different Holes

In comparison, land mammals breathe and eat through their mouths, unlike dolphins, who have separate holes for different purposes. Dolphins breathe through their blowholes while their mouth is primarily used for eating. This prevents dolphins from sucking water whenever they eat through their mouth, reducing the risks of drowning in dolphins. 

Wrapping things up

Dolphins are, without a doubt, one of the most well-loved and liked marine creatures on the planet. What’s not to like about them? They are cheerful, highly friendly, and are one of the most intelligent creatures on the planet, and they even play with humans! We, as humans, should preserve and protect our habitat.  

And you can take that first step in helping to save dolphins as well as other marine life habitats by supporting us here at ATOLEA! In every purchase from our Ocean-inspired jewelry, part of the profit goes to Ocean conservation charities.  Grab our elegant Ocean jewelry collection now!