Bottlenose Dolphin
| Order | Cetacea |
| Sub-Order | Odontoceti |
| Family | Delphinidae |
| Genus & Species | Tursiops truncatus |
| Length | 11 to 13 feet |
| Weight | 330 to 440 pounds |
| Sexual maturity | About 8 years |
| Mating | Mating can occur at any time, but most
births take place during the summer |
| Number of Young | Single calf |
| Call | Extensive vocabulary of
whistles and clicks |
| Habit | Sociable |
| Diet | A wide range of inshore fish, particularly
capelin, anchovy, salmon, and shrimp |
| Lifespan | Up to 50 years |
Bottlenose dolphins usually mate in the spring and summer. The
females give birth underwater to a single calf
10 to 12 months
later. Several dolphins surround the mother to assist with her
delivery and to protect her and
the baby from shark attacks.
Sharks are attracted to the scene by the blood which is released
during birth. Sometimes
the dolphin helpers will tug gently at
the baby's tail as it emerges whistling encouragement to mother
and youngster.
They swim together as a group to guide the newborn
dolphin to the surface for its first breath of air. The mother
nurses her calf for at least 16 months, so she usually breeds only
once every two to three years. Each time, she
is likely to breed with a different mate.
Dolphins are very sociable animals that generally live in groups.
Their friendly, cooperative behavior is vital to
their survival.
When a dolphin is sick or injured, its cries of distress summon
immediate aid from other dolphins, who
try to support it to the
surface so that it can breathe. Dolphins spend a large part of
the day playing. They use
whistles and clicks to contact each
other.
Dolphins eat a wide variety of fish, and their
hunting behavior varies according to the availability of food.
When large
schools of fish are present, as many as several
hundred dolphins will cooperate in catching the fish by
communicating
with one another. They drive the fish into a
dense mass and force them to the surface of the water, making
it impossible
for the fish to escape. They also emit loud
sounds to further confuse the prey. Dolphins usually hunt during
the day.
However, when fish begin migrating or are scarce, dolphins
become nocturnal hunters. They search for squid and bottom-dwelling
fish which are active at night.
Man and dolphins conflict when they compete for fish; each year,
thousands of dolphins drown in nets. Sometimes
schools of dolphins
get stranded on shore. conservationists try to return them to deep
water but are rarely
successful. Scientists believe that schools
become stranded when a single dolphin's echo-location system is
upset.
Its distress calls cause others to follow it to their
deaths.
| DID YOU KNOW? |
Dolphins can eat at depths of 6 feet and can stay
submerged for up to 15 minutes |
| | Sharks and killer whales prey on dolphins |
| | To breathe when they are asleep, females lie on the
water's surface with their blowholes exposed to the air; males sleep just below the surface and rise to breathe
periodically as a reflex action |
Information is Copyright IMP BV/IMP Inc.
Wildlife
Fact File
| Great
White Shark | Sea Otter |
| Sea Horse | Blue Whale
|
| Octopus | Bottlenose
Dolphin |
| Sperm Whale | California
Sea Lion |
| Elephant Seal | Adopt An
Animal |
| Home |
| Michele |
Links |
Sign Language |
| Adoptions |
Animals
| Say No To Drugs |
| Holidays | History |
|
All graphics and
pages are copyright © 1997 - 2008 Pages 4 Ever
(except where noted). Do not take, copy, steal, plagiarize or use in any
way, shape or format without the express written permission of Pages
4 Ever.
Some backgrounds and graphics made from clipart acquired from ArtToday, Boxed Art,
friends, my own imagination, and/or
graphic CD collections that I have purchased. If you find anything on this site
that you have copyright to, and can prove it, please let me know and I will
gladly either remove it or place a link back to you, whichever you prefer.
If you should find any broken links, please drop us a line and let us know the
exact URL the broken link is on. Thank you.
|
|