Dolphins Intelligence facts - strangefacts

• Dolphins locate objects by using sound. They bounce high pitched sounds off of objects to sense where they are. This is called "echolocation" and it is the way that bats 'see' as well

• Dolphins have sophisticated hearing and navigate and hunt by using sound

• Like whales a Dolphin has a blow hole at the top of its head and must come up to breathe. So a Dolphin normally stays about 10-15 feet from the surface so it can come up to breathe often. However, a Dolphin can dive to over 500 feet if they want to

• Dolphins have a complicated system of communication using clicks and sound. They coordinate their hunting and social group using sound

• A dolphin sleeps with half of its brain shut down and one eye closed

• They have been playing and communicating with people from ancient times and still do

• Dolphins use sonar, because their eyes are on the sides of their bodies. They can't see ahead

• To test for dolphin self-awareness, Diana Reiss of Columbia University and Lori Marino of  Emory University exposed two bottlenose dolphins to reflective surfaces after marking the dolphins with black ink, applying a water-filled marker (sham-marking) or not marking them at all. The team predicted that if the dolphins which had prior experience with mirrors recognized their reflections, they would not show social responses; they would spend more time in front of the mirror when marked; and they would make their way over to the mirror more quickly to inspect themselves when marked or sham-marked. The experiments bore out all three predictions in both dolphin subjects. Moreover, the animals even selected the best reflective surface available to view their markings

• People have been known to be cured of cancer after swimming with dolphins. They have sometimes believed it is the ultrasonic sound they give off, although it may actually be human willpower. People have also used dolphins to swim with mentally retarded people

• Dolphins have been known to save people from drowning. Do they actually have a special love for humans,as some believe?

Indus Blind Dolphins - strangefacts

• Blind Dolphins are found only in the Indus region and the Ganges, in south Asia. Unlike other dolphins, blind dolphins are found in rivers and not the sea.

• These river dolphins are the only species in the world to have eyes without lenses! Instead, they have sound imaging skills called echolocation, which is a very sophisticated sonar system that helps them swim through the muddy rivers.

• They swim on one side underwater, and keep close to the bottom of the riverbed, which helps them navigate and find food.

• There are fewer than 4,000 to 6,000 blind river dolphins left and the number is fast decreasing.

• The Indus Dolphins have a long beak, a small low hump, and wide flippers. An adult can weigh 150-200 pounds (70- 90 kilograms).

• The Indus and the Ganges dolphins can also survive in waters only three feet deep! Although they are slow swimmers, they can move in rapid spurts when they need to.

• They breathe through their blowholes with a loud sound that sounds like a sneeze, and can be heard from quite far away.

• The blind dolphins are an endangered species. That means, they will all die out unless we protect them. The dolphins are threatened by chemical and other pollution, dam building, accidental entanglement in fishing nets, and by humans hunting them for their meat as well as their oil, which people think has medicinal value.

Facts About Dolphins - strangefacts

• Humans and dolphins are the only species that have sex for pleasure.

• Dolphins are very intelligent and learn quickly. They pick up tricks faster than dogs. Dolphins rank # 2 in animal intelligence behind chimpanzees.

• Dolphin calves are born tail first and must swim to the surface of the water for air. The mother dolphin will help push her baby to the surface to get that first breath.

• The spinner dolphin spins on its tail in the air before splashing back into the water.

• The Dolphin family has 36 species. The largest is the orca, or killer whale at 23 feet long and 4.5 tons. The smallest is the Heaviside’s dolphin, only 3 1/2 feet long and 88 pounds.

• Some types of dolphins must rise to the surface to breathe every 20 to 30 seconds while others can hold their breath as long as 30 minutes.

• The Dolphin family has 36 species. The largest is the orca, or killer whale at 23 feet long and 4.5 tons. The smallest is the Heaviside’s dolphin, only 3 1/2 feet long and 88 pounds.

• The annual global by-catch mortality of small whales, dolphins and porpoises alone is estimated to be more than 300,000 individuals.