Dolphins
Dolphins are small-toothed cetaceans easily recognizable by their curved mouths, which give them a permanent “smile.” There are 36 dolphin species, found in every ocean. Most dolphins are marines and live in the ocean or brackish waters along coastlines. There are a few species, however, like the South Asian river dolphin and the Amazon river dolphin, or boto, that live in freshwater streams and rivers.
The largest dolphin, the orca, can grow to be over 30 feet long. The smallest, the Maui dolphin, is just five feet long.
Dolphins feed chiefly on fish and squid, which they track using echolocation, a built-in sonar that bounces sound waves off prey and reveals information like its location, size, and shape. An echolocating bottlenose dolphin can make up to a thousand clicking noises per second.
As mammals, they have warm blood and nurse their young. Dolphins have more than one mate, and generally produce a single offspring that will stay with the mother for up to six years, depending on the species.
For centuries, people have hunted dolphins for their meat and blubber. Today, their main threat comes from being caught accidentally in commercial fishing nets. Dolphins must rise regularly to the surface to breathe—becoming entangled in nets prevents this, leading to drowning.
This is really sad; however, due to quarantine, this situation has gone better by the day, so now we can see dolphins in places like Santa Marta's Bay do to the decrease of pollution, population crowds, and hunting of this animal.
By Dina Reyes, Step 10
