Featured Image Credit: Huffington Post
By:Sarah Sharkey
We all love dolphins because what’s not to love? They are adorable and intelligent mammals and these intriguing creatures are how many of us first started to care about the ocean and all of the other creatures in it.
We all know that they are super cool, but here are a couple of facts that you probably didn’t know about them:
1. Bottlenose dolphins can dive up to 260 meters below the surface.
This extreme depth is unfathomable for us humans, but some bottlenose dolphins do it every day. And, once they dive deep, they can stay underwater for 10 to 15 minutes.
2. The average dolphin brain weighs from 1500 to 1600 grams.
That is bigger than the average human brain. Although brain size is not conclusive evidence of intelligence, it does indicate that dolphins have the potential for higher intelligence.
3. Bottlenose dolphins sleep with one eye open and the other closed.
One of the reasons they do this is because they need to be awake in order to breathe. So half of the brain stays awake while the other half of the brain goes to sleep in order to prevent drowning.
4. The United States military trains dolphins to perform marine tasks.
These tasks can include detecting enemy divers and locating sea mines. Some of the dolphins have even been trained to find mines and booby traps through the use of a camera on their flipper. These amazing dolphins are saving lives every day.
5. Although they normally travel at speeds between 6 and 8 km/hr, they can reach a speed of 30 km/hour for short bursts.
When traveling at higher speeds, dolphins will jump out of the water because it is more efficient due to the fact that air provides less resistance than water.
6. These sea creatures use echolocation to determine the size and location of an object.
They do this by creating high-pitched clicks to help them navigate and find their food.
Unlike many creatures of the sea, the bottlenose dolphin is not in danger of disappearing anytime soon. Nevertheless, there are a few things that you can do to help them stay safe: Always buy dolphin safe fish and support efforts to crack down on the illegal hunting of these magnificent creatures.