Fascinating dolphin facts that you should know about

Dolphins are water mammals and are many people’s favorite animal, and especially for kids. They are friendly, smart, caring, and playful. If you ever see one swimming near you, don’t get scared, as they are just curious to meet you and they will never hurt you. In fact, there are plenty of reported cases of dolphins saving humans from drowning and pushing them towards the shore. Here are some fascinating facts that you should know about these lovely animals.

Dolphins are born with hair

A dolphin
A dolphin

One of the reasons why dolphins are designated as mammals is because they are born with hair on the top of their mouth. That hair falls out within the two weeks of their birth.

Dolphins give birth differently to other mammals

Dolphins are the only mammals that give birth tail first, unlike all other mammals that give birth with the head first.

Dolphins help each other during giving birth

When a dolphin gives birth, there is always another female around that helps the process.

Dolphins have a unique dorsal fin

All dolphins have dorsal fins, but each one is unique. It’s something like the fingerprint in humans.

Speed recorders

Atlantic spotted dolphin
Atlantic spotted dolphin

Thanks to their powerful tails, dolphins can swim at 33 feet per second.

They have two stomachs

This fact may sound incredible, but it’s true. These beautiful water mammals have two stomachs. One is used for food storage and the other one for digestion.

Dolphins heal incredibly fast

Dolphins heal fast after terrifying shark attacks thanks to their strong skin, which contains antibacterials. Also, they stop any bleeding by swimming deep under the water.

Dolphin teeth are antennas

Dolphins
Dolphins

Dolphins have between 80 and 100 teeth and they function as antenna that receive incoming echolocation clicks.

They give themselves names

Dolphins communicate with each other by whistling. They whistle a different sound depending on whom are they calling. It seems like they also give names to each other, just like humans.

They take good care of their families

A group or a family of dolphins is called a pod. They all take care of all the other members of the pod and help the elderly, the hurt, and the sick individuals.

They eat 30 pounds of fish per day

A dolphin
A dolphin

The grown-up dolphin eats up to 30 pounds of fish per day. Now you know where they get their strength from.

Dolphins can put to sleep one side of the brain

They sleep with shutting down only one half of their brain while the other half stays awake. The awake part of the brain helps them breathe and stay aware of possible danger while they’re asleep.

They don’t chew

It doesn’t sound logical to swallow whole food when you have 100 teeth, right? But that’s exactly how it works.

They speak two languages

Communicating with a dolphin
Communicating with a dolphin

Dolphins can whistle and click. They use whistles to communicate to each other and clicks are used for sonar echo location. This is like we can speak in two languages with two different people in the same conversation.

Dolphins cry

Their eyes produce tears, not because they are sad, but to protect them from infections and injuries.

They can’t smell

Dolphins can’t smell a thing, but they have great eyesight and hearing.

There are 43 species of dolphins

Dolphins
Dolphins

Although they all look the same to us and we have no clue about their differences, there are 43 species of dolphin in the world. The majority of them are marine dolphins, and there are only five freshwater river dolphin species.

Now you know why everybody loves dolphins and why they’re so awesome. They are beautiful animals with incredibly intelligent behavior that even some humans envy. Long live the dolphins!

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stef-zisovska

stef-zisovska is one of the authors writing for Outdoor Revival