Did you know?

Although dolphins are mammals, they can stay submerged for up to 15 minutes and eat underwater.

Bottlenosed dolphins have been known to attack sharks.

Dolphins have advanced echolocation systems that can send out distress signals to others in their school if one is distressed or spots a predator.

How a Dolphin Communicates

The dolphins ability to communicate with clicks and whistles has led many marine biologists to believe that dolphins are one of the most intelligent animals next to man.

Dolphins leap into the air to spot sea birds to give them clues as to where fish are during hunting.

Most of the dolphins day is spent playing.

How a Dolphin Sleeps

While sleeping, female dolphins lie on the water's surface with their blowholes exposed to the air while the males sleep below the surface and come up for air as a reflex action.

How a Dolphin moves

Dolphins use their powerful tail flukes in an up and down motion to move through the water. They also use their tails when hunting, hitting a fleeing fish up into the air with their tail, stunning it, then scooping the fish up when it falls back into the water. A dolphin slapping its tail on the water in the wild may be a sign of annoyance, or a warning to other dolphins of danger.

Their pectoral flippers are used to steer them through the water, and they also use them to stroke one another, increasing the social bond between them. Dolphin "friends" may swim along face to face touching flippers. Dolphins that appear to be closely bonded may swim in synchrony, twisting, turning and swimming in perfect harmony together.

How a Dolphin breathe

Dolphins breathe through their blowhole located at the top of their head. A dolphin may empty and refill its lungs in less than a fifth of a second. As the dolphin breathes the air leaves the blowhole at speeds of over 100mph. Complex nerve endings around the blowhole sense pressure changes so the dolphin knows exactly when the blowhole is in or nearing the air and can be opened. Water in a dolphin's blowhole will actually drown it so powerful muscles close the blowhole as it dives under the water again.

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