TT #77: dolphins

Thirteen facts about dolphins I love Dolphins, ever since I was a little girl! They are very intelligent animals and appeal to my imagination. I hope one day to swim with dolphins in the wild! The greatest threat to whales, dolphins and porpoises is entanglement in fishing gear, also known as bycatch. If current trends continue unabated, several species and many populations will be lost in the next few decades. (source: World Wildlife Fund) Like a bat, dolphins use echolocation to navigate and hunt, bouncing high-pitched sounds off of objects, and listening for the echoes. (source: MIT Sea Grant) Baby dolphins are sucked forward by the motion of their swimming mothers -- giving them a needed assist -- when they position themselves to the right and behind their mothers. (source: Discovery Channel News) Dolphins sleep with one half of their brain plus one eye closed, then switching to the other side of the brain and the other eye closed during other parts of the day -- slowing down everything inside their bodies and moving very little. (source: MIT Sea Grant) There are about 40 species of dolphin. Some can hold their breath for as much as 30 minutes, while others must breathe every 20 seconds. (source: Wikipedia and Animal Planet) Dolphins, such as the bottlenose dolphin, use their teeth only to grasp prey, since they swallow their food whole. (source: Animal Planet) Since 1847, intelligent bottlenose dolphins in the wild have hunted fish with the fishermen of the town of Laguna in southern Brazil. The dolphins have learned that they can feed on the fish that escape from the nets of the fishermen, who work in the shallow waters towards the beach. Driving the fish toward the beach, one of the dolphins rolls over, signaling the fishermen to throw their nets. Man working with nature in harmony! (source: Wikipedia) With their sleek, aerodynamically shaped bodies, some dolphins can swim up to 25 mph (40.2 km ph) for long distances, which is triple the speed of the fastest human swimmers. (source: Animal Planet) Jumping as much as 20 feet (6 meters) out of the water is not unusual for dolphins. (source: Animal Planet) Young dolphins are known to playfully create underwater bubble rings (that do not rise to the surface) by injecting air into water vortices. These underwater toys are then pushed about by their rostrum (snout), bitten, and elongated by the baby dolphins. (source: Project Delphis) Fish and squid are the diet of the common dolphin, where the dolphins have been seen hunting and working together to herd the fish into tight balls. (source: American Cetacean Society) Because the spinner dolphin swims with the yellowfin tuna, they have been slaughtered by the hundreds of thousands in the purse-seine tuna fisheries, which has produced the controversy that led to the enactment of national and international laws for dolphin safe tuna. (source: American Cetacean Society) Freshwater river dolphins of China and South America are the most endangered because of their close proximity to people. (source: MIT Sea Grant) ~*~*~*~ Links to other Thursday Thirteens! ~*~ Chelle Y. ~*~ anthonynorth ~*~ Holly ~*~ Chuck ~*~ pussreboots ~*~ Mama Duck ~*~ Nicholas ~*~ Susan Helene ~*~ Mama Kelly ~*~ Open Grove Claudia ~*~ susiej ~*~ Adelle ~*~ Sandy Carlson ~*~ Grandmother Wren ~*~ Linda ~*~ Cheerio ~*~ SJ Reidhead ~*~ Bethany ~*~ Lara Angelina ~*~ Dane Bramage ~*~ Natalie ~*~ Pajama Mommy ~*~ Jenny ~*~ marcia ~*~ Gattina ~*~ sd-b ~*~ Darla ~*~ Aline de Chevigny ~*~ Maribeth ~*~ Lisa ~*~ Kat's Krackerbox ~*~ xakara ~*~ Chris ~*~ The Mama Bear ~*~ Wysperia ~*~ Julia Smith ~*~ Peggy Sez. ~*~ Candy Minx ~*~ Get the Thursday Thirteen code here! The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted! View More Thursday Thirteen Participants