Dolphins facts about them. Dolphins - interesting facts for children and adults. Dolphins are not fish

05.03.2020

Dolphins are incredibly smart and friendly to humans, they have a cheerful disposition and are simply adorable animals. It is not without reason that these aquatic mammals deserve such a respectful attitude. Let's learn more about these amazing animals.

The word dolphin goes back to the Greek δελφίς (delphis), which in turn comes from the Indo-European root *gʷelbh- "womb", "womb", "womb". The name of the animal can be interpreted as "newborn baby" (perhaps because of the external resemblance to a baby or because the cry of a dolphin is similar to the cry of a child).

The dolphin is the only mammal whose birth literally begins with the tail, and not with the head! Young dolphins stay with their mother for 2 or 3 years.

In nature, there are almost forty species of dolphins, their closest relatives are whales and sea cows. Dolphins evolved relatively recently - about ten million years ago, during the Miocene. Most species of dolphins live in salt water, but there are also freshwater animals.

Adult dolphins reach sizes from 1.2 m in length and weight from 40 kg (river dolphin) to 9.5 m and 10 tons (killer whale). The brain is the largest organ in the dolphin's body. During sleep, a part of the brain is awake, allowing the dolphin to breathe in sleep so as not to drown! The life of a dolphin is directly dependent on access to oxygen.

Dolphins have a weak sense of smell, but excellent eyesight and absolutely unique hearing. Emitting powerful sound impulses, they are capable of echolocation, which allows them to perfectly navigate in the water, find each other and food.

Dolphins are capable of making a wide range of sounds with the help of a nasal air sac located under the blowhole. There are roughly three categories of sounds: frequency-modulated whistles, explosive impulse sounds, and clicks. Clicks are the loudest among the sounds made by marine life.

Dolphins can swim at speeds up to 25 miles per hour for long periods of time. This is about 3 times faster than the fastest swimmers in the world.

The so-called. is associated with dolphins. "Grey's paradox". In the 1930s Englishman James Gray was surprised by the unusually high swimming speed of dolphins (37 km / h according to his measurements). Having made the necessary calculations, Gray showed that, according to the laws of hydrodynamics for bodies with unchanged surface properties, dolphins should have had several times greater muscle strength than was observed in them. Accordingly, he suggested that dolphins are able to control the streamlining of their body, maintaining a laminar flow at speeds for which it should already become turbulent. In the United States and Great Britain after the Second World War and 10 years later in the USSR, attempts began to prove or disprove this assumption. In the United States, they practically ceased from 1965-1966 to 1983, as erroneous conclusions were made on the basis of incorrect estimates that the "Grey's paradox" does not exist, and only muscular energy is enough for dolphins to develop such speed. In the USSR, attempts continued in 1971-1973. the first experimental confirmation of Gray's conjecture appeared.

Dolphins have a system of sound signals. There are two types of signals: echolocation (sonar), used by animals to study the situation, detect obstacles, prey, and “chirps” or “whistles”, for communication with relatives, also expressing the emotional state of the dolphin.

Signals are emitted at very high, ultrasonic frequencies, inaccessible to human hearing. The sound perception of humans is in the frequency band up to 20 kHz, dolphins use frequencies up to 200 kHz.

In the "speech" of dolphins, scientists have already counted 186 different "whistles". They have about the same levels of organization of sounds as a person: six, that is, a sound, a syllable, a word, a phrase, a paragraph, a context, they have their own dialects.

In 2006, a team of British researchers from the University of St. Andrews conducted a series of experiments, the results of which suggest that dolphins are capable of assigning and recognizing names.

Communication with dolphins has a positive effect on the human body, especially on the child's psyche. British experts came to this conclusion back in 1978. Since that time, the development of "dolphin therapy" began. Now it is used to treat many physical and mental diseases, including autism, and other ailments. Swimming with dolphins relieves chronic pain, improves immunity and even helps children develop speech.

Dolphins are also used in pet therapy to treat people with ultrasonic sonar.

A dolphin and a pregnant woman off the coast of Ixtapa, Mexico. Ixtapa, MexicoPicture: CATERS

An absolutely unique feature of dolphins is that they can "look inside" a person, like an ultrasound device - for example, they quickly determine the pregnancy of a woman. The feeling of “new life” is often very emotional for dolphins, they react violently and joyfully to pregnant women, and as a rule, pregnant women are not allowed to swim in enclosures (although this may be the best time to communicate), so as not to take away the attention of animals from other visitors, and to avoid an involuntary "emotional attack" on the unborn baby.

Incredibly romantic fact from the "private" life of dolphins - ethologists studying Amazon dolphins have discovered that males give gifts to potential mates. So, what gift is the female dolphin waiting for to consider her as a candidate for the continuation of offspring? Of course, a bouquet of river algae!

India has become the 4th country to ban the keeping of dolphins in captivity. Earlier similar measures were taken by Costa Rica, Hungary and Chile. The Indians call dolphins "a person or person of a different origin than "homo sapiens". Accordingly, the "person" must have its own rights, and its exploitation for commercial purposes is unacceptable by law. Animal behavioral scientists (ethologists) say it is very difficult to define the line that separates human intelligence and emotions from the nature of dolphins.

The United States and Russian law enforcement agencies have trained oceanic dolphins for military purposes. Fighting dolphins have been trained to detect underwater mines, rescue sailors after their ship is destroyed, and search and destroy submarines using kamikaze techniques.

A dolphin has twice as many convolutions in the cerebral cortex as a human.

Dolphins not only have a "vocabulary" of up to 14,000 audio signals that allows them to communicate with each other, but they also have self-awareness, "social consciousness" and emotional empathy - a willingness to help newborns and the sick by pushing them to the surface of the water.

Dolphins are voracious predators, feeding mainly on fish, mollusks, and crustaceans; sometimes they attack their relatives.

Dolphins are mostly social, found in all seas and even rise into rivers.

Dolphins are famous for their playful behavior and for the fact that for the sake of entertainment they can blow air bubbles in the form of a ring under water with the help of a blowhole. These can be large bubble clouds, bubble streams, or individual bubbles. Some of them act as a kind of communicative signals.

Within a pack, dolphins form very close bonds. Scientists have noticed that dolphins care for sick, wounded and elderly relatives, and a female dolphin can help another female with difficult childbirth. At this time, nearby dolphins, protecting the female in childbirth, swim around her for protection.

Along with humans and bonobos (pygmy chimpanzees), dolphins are the only animal species that can mate for pleasure.

Another proof of the high intelligence of dolphins is the fact that adults sometimes teach their cubs to use special tools for hunting. For example, they “dress” sea sponges on their muzzles in order to avoid injury when hunting for fish that can hide in bottom sediments of sand and sharp pebbles.

Dolphin skin is very delicate and easily damaged by contact with other surfaces. That is why before petting a dolphin, it is necessary to remove all sharp objects, such as rings.

Dolphins have up to 100 teeth in their mouths, but they do not chew food with them, but only capture it. Dolphins swallow all their prey whole.

Dolphins can dive to depths of up to 305 meters, but they usually swim this deep only when hunting. Many bottlenose dolphins live almost in shallow water. In Sarasota Bay, Florida, dolphins spend considerable time at a depth of only 2 meters.

The oldest dolphin in captivity was named Nelly. She lived in the marine mammal park "Marineland" (Florida) and died when she was 61 years old.

When dolphins hunt, they use an interesting tactic to drive the fish into a trap. They begin to circle around the school of fish, close the ring, forcing the fish to huddle into a tight ball. Then, one by one, the dolphins snatch the fish from the center of the school, preventing it from leaving.

Dolphins can rise up to 6 meters above the water when they jump out of the water.

Each dolphin in the ocean has its own name, to which it responds when called by relatives. He receives it as soon as he is born, and it is a characteristic whistle lasting 0.9 seconds. Dolphins not only call each other by name, but also introduce themselves when meeting strangers. And to identify a relative by voice, without seeing him, is a couple of trifles for them.

Dolphins are mammals from the family of toothed whales of the cetacean order. There are about forty species of these animals on the planet, and you can see them anywhere in the oceans. Most dolphins prefer to live in tropical and subtropical latitudes, but there are those who like colder waters, so they can be seen close to the Arctic, and some species are found both there and there. For example, although the white-faced dolphin lives mainly in the North Atlantic, it can often be seen off the coast of Turkey.

Most members of the family (for example, bottlenose dolphins, white-faced dolphins) are marine inhabitants, but there are four species that prefer to live in fresh river or lake water. The river dolphin lives in Asia, as well as in the waters of the South American rivers of the Amazon and Orinoco.

Unfortunately, if earlier representatives of this family met often, now the river dolphin has practically disappeared and is listed in the Red Book due to habitat loss, environmental pollution, a decrease in the amount of food and small populations.

Description

The length of dolphins ranges from one and a half to ten meters. The smallest dolphin in the world is Maui, which lives near New Zealand: the length of the female does not exceed 1.7 meters. A large inhabitant of the deep sea is considered to be a white-faced dolphin about three meters long. The largest representative is the killer whale: the length of males reaches ten meters.

It is worth noting that males are usually ten to twenty centimeters longer than females (the exception is killer whales - here the difference is about two meters). They weigh on average from one hundred and fifty to three hundred kilograms, killer whale - about a ton.

The back of sea dolphins is gray, blue, dark brown, black and even pink (albino) colors. The front of the head can be either solid or white (for example, a white-faced dolphin has a white beak and front of the forehead).

In some species, the mouth is rounded in front, the beak-shaped mouth is absent. In others, small sizes, the head ends with an elongated mouth in the form of a flattened “beak”, and the mouth is shaped so that people watching them seem to be always smiling, and therefore they often have an irresistible desire to swim with dolphins. At the same time, even a huge number of teeth of the same cone-shaped shape does not spoil the impression - dolphins have about two hundred of them.

Due to the elongated body and smooth, elastic skin, these animals almost do not feel water resistance during movement. Thanks to this, they are able to move very quickly (the average speed of a dolphin is 40 km / h), dive to a depth of about one hundred meters, jump out of the water nine meters high and five meters long.

Another unique feature of these marine mammals is that almost all species of dolphins (with the exception of the Amazonian river dolphin and several other varieties) see well both underwater and above the surface. They have this ability due to the structure of the retina, one part of which is responsible for the image in the water, the other - above its surface.

Since whales and dolphins are relatives, like all representatives of cetaceans, they are quite capable of staying under water for a long period. But, they still need oxygen, so they constantly float to the surface, showing a blue muzzle and replenishing air supplies through a drawbar, which overlaps under water. Even during sleep, the animal is fifty centimeters from the surface and, without waking up, swims out every half a minute.

Way of life

Dolphins live in packs and do not tolerate loneliness very well. Although they do not have a leader, they perform all actions in concert: they hunt together, raise children, have fun, performing jumps of amazing beauty one after another.

The dolphin is considered one of the most intelligent mammals on our planet: the weight of its brain is 1700 grams, which is three hundred grams more than a human, and there are also twice as many convolutions in the cerebral cortex. This explains their highly developed social consciousness, ability to sympathize, readiness to help sick and wounded relatives, as well as drowning people.

Dolphins help quite actively: if one of the members of the flock is injured or barely afloat, they support him near the surface so that he cannot drown and choke. They do the same in relation to a person, helping to get to the shore. Some scientists explain why dolphins do this by caring for the population: each individual in the flock is valuable - and everything must be done to keep it alive.

Language

For communication, animals use gestures (turns, jumps, different styles of swimming, head, fins, tail), as well as voice: the sounds of dolphins are about 14 thousand signals, and everyone has heard about the songs of dolphins. These unique animals are able to perceive the frequency of vibrations up to 200 thousand/sec, while the human ear - up to 20 thousand.

They also have a four times better ability to analyze the sounds of dolphins, separating frequencies from each other (to find out why dolphins have such abilities, there has been a lot of research lately). Communication occurs mainly with the help of ultrasound (it is especially convenient for them to use it to transmit sound over long distances).

The songs of dolphins are not only ultrasound: the sounds of dolphins often sound at an average frequency and are expressed by clicks, squeaks, whistles (studies have shown that they perceive their speech as hieroglyphic pictures).

Dolphin sounds are of two types:

Sonar or echolocation - animals hear the echo of a beating sound and identify it;
Whistling or chirping - these sounds of dolphins are used for close communication with relatives and animals express their emotions by them. Scientists have counted about 186 different types of "whistles", which, like human speech, contain sounds, syllables, words, phrases, paragraphs, context and dialect.

Nutrition

The diet of dolphins is based on fish, squid, shrimps (some dolphins in the ocean, in order to catch their favorite prey, are quite capable of diving to a depth of up to 260 kilometers), killer whales eat marine mammals and birds.

They fish in different ways. Sometimes the whole flock of dolphins is looking for her, sometimes - by a separate group or sent in search of a scout.

If hunting takes place on the high seas, dolphins surround a large school of fish, knocking them into a heap, after which they take turns diving there and feeding. If they fish near the shore, the strategy is somewhat different: a flock of dolphins drives schools to land, after which the fish are easily caught in shallow water.

reproduction

The ability to reproduce in females appears between the fifth and twelfth years of life, in males between the ninth and thirteenth. Their couples are unstable and animals change partners every time.

How long the pregnancy lasts is not precisely established, presumably this period is from ten to eighteen months. When giving birth, the female is very close to the surface, so that, as soon as the baby is born, raise her tail high, giving him the opportunity to take a sip of air before falling into the water.

Usually one baby about half a meter long is born, and up to six months the mother feeds him with milk and protects him. Newborn cubs usually do not fall asleep in the first month of their life and do not allow their mothers to sleep, swimming around them and emerging to the surface every thirty seconds, forcing them to be constantly on the alert.

Relationships with people

Humans and dolphins have a long and complex history: until recently, animals were actively hunted, which led to the complete and partial extinction of some species. After the fishing was banned, the situation improved, but a new trend appeared: to catch these animals for the show (especially since they are very smart and grasp everything on the fly) and giving people far from the sea the opportunity to swim with dolphins. It should be noted that the idea is not the best, because if under natural conditions the inhabitants of the sea live from thirty to fifty years, in captivity - only seven.

Their early death is primarily influenced by a too passive lifestyle, even despite constant training for participation in the show, extremely limited space and the quality of water: the lack of a complete set of nutrients and minerals they need in it.

Recently, people and dolphins have learned to interact better (first of all, this applies to humans, since these animals are sociable, friendly and peaceful). Moreover, communication with these mammals benefits almost everyone: giving the opportunity to listen to the songs of dolphins, chat, stroke the blue back, feed fish, swim with dolphins, psychotherapists and doctors effectively use them to treat diseases in children such as cerebral palsy, early childhood autism, etc.

1.Dolphins have long been people's favorites due to their high intelligence.

Dolphins are truly considered the most intelligent animals in the world. Also, dolphins are the most popular and most amazing animals among all kinds of marine animals.

2. Images of dolphins were found in the city of Petra in Jordan. This city was founded in 312 BC. This means that dolphins have been “cooperating” with humans for quite a long time. Also, figurines of dolphins were found in the desert of Jordan. It is surprising that this country is far from the habitat of these animals.

3. In ancient Greece, killing a dolphin was considered sacrilege and punishable by death. The Greeks considered them "hieros ichthys", which means "sacred fish".

4. The statue of Apollo at Delphi had the image of this animal.

5. In ancient Rome, it was believed that dolphins carry souls to the "Isles of the Blessed." Images of these animals have been found on the hands of Roman mummies, presumably to ensure their safe passage to the afterlife.

bottlenose dolphin

6. Ocean beauties - bottlenose dolphins, they never cease to amaze the world, they are the kindest and most sympathetic creatures on the planet. Bottlenose dolphins are the most studied species of dolphins. Probably, the reason for this was their natural friendliness, ingenuity and easy learning. People always manage to quickly establish contact with them.

7. They live in the warm waters of the oceans. The diet of the bottlenose dolphin is fish, squid and small inhabitants of the ocean depths.

8. The bottlenose dolphin is a very compassionate creature. A case in point occurred in New Zealand in 2004. Four lifeguards were attacked by a great white shark 100 meters from the shore. A flock of bottlenose dolphins protected people from a predator that sensed the victim for 40 minutes. There is no explanation for this fact of kindness and compassion on the part of animals.

9. Scientists believe that a few hundred years ago, dolphins were much smaller than they are now.

10. Dolphins have teeth but don't use them to chew because their jaws aren't overgrown with muscles. They are designed exclusively for catching prey, which is subsequently simply swallowed whole.

white-faced dolphin

11. White-faced dolphins are inhabitants of temperate waters. They mainly live in the coastal zone and feed on bottom fish. Most often, this species of dolphins is found off the coast of Norway, where fishing is open for them.

12. White-faced dolphins have characteristic thick teeth, which sometimes scare people. However, they should not be afraid, because they only eat shellfish, fish and crustaceans. For humans, these animals are not at all dangerous, but can only cause harm through negligence during communication. Otherwise, these cute creatures are as good-natured as other members of the family.

13. Many scientists are inclined to think that dolphins are intelligent creatures that have been developing in parallel with humanity since the appearance of life on the planet. They have their own language and hierarchy, their brain activity is strikingly different from that of all other animals and fish and cannot be fully studied.

14. Research scientists have proven that dolphins lived on land before adapting to water. When studying their fins, scientists discovered that they actually formed and previously looked like paws and fingers. Therefore, perhaps our closest relatives are these marine life.

15. About 49 million years ago, the ancestors of dolphins moved into the water.

white-bellied dolphins

16. There is a species of black dolphins. In fact, it is more correct to call these animals the white-bellied or Chilean dolphin. Dolphins got their unusual name due to their rather variegated coloration: the fins and belly of mammals are white, and the rest of the body is painted in gray-black. Currently, this dolphin is considered the smallest of all cetaceans. In length, they reach only 170 centimeters. This type of dolphin has been little studied. According to some reports, animals prefer to live in shallow water, they are often seen in the mouths of rivers, where salt water mixes with fresh water. Scientists still cannot come to a conclusion regarding the population size of this species. Some believe that there are about 4,000 black dolphins, while others speak with confidence about the figure - 2,000 individuals.

17. These animals live along the Chilean coast. Experts say that this species is generally not prone to migration and lives in the places of birth.

Common dolphins

18. Unfortunately, black dolphins are on the verge of extinction, although they have not yet been officially protected by law. Huge damage to their population is caused by fishermen, as animals regularly fall into their nets, dying there.

19. According to scientists, each dolphin has its own name, which its relatives call it. All of them make peculiar sounds that are difficult for the human ear to catch, but in their environment one individual differs from another precisely in its peculiar timbre and manner of communicating.

20. Experiments conducted with the participation of dolphins usually baffle researchers, since they cannot form a definite opinion about the level of their intelligence. Of course, dolphins are very smart and hide secrets that humanity will study for a long time to come.

killer whale

21. Killer whales are considered the largest species of dolphins. Their bodies can be up to 30 feet long. In addition, killer whales are considered one of the most ferocious killers in the world.

22. Currently, 43 species of dolphins are known. 38 of them are inhabitants of the seas and oceans, and the remaining 5 are river.

23. They have among themselves specific similarities, such as live birth, nutrition with milk, the presence of respiratory organs, smooth skin and much more.

24. Also, dolphins of different species have their own characteristics. Some animals have an elongated nose, while others, on the contrary, are depressed. They may differ in color and body weight.

25. It is very interesting how dolphins can communicate with each other and detect prey. The researchers found that these creatures have their own sounds for different life situations, and they are divided into sonar and communicative. Sonar signals are used by them to detect prey, and communicative signals are used for communication within the family.

26. Female dolphins help each other produce offspring. All other relatives at this time carry out protection.

27. American scientists have created a device through which they are trying to recognize the meaning of dolphin signals. Not so long ago, it was found that the ultrasound emitted by dolphins has a beneficial effect on human health and even helps to treat certain diseases.

28. Dolphins do not have a sense of smell, but they have a sense of taste and, like humans, are able to distinguish between sweet, sour, bitter and salty tastes.

29. Dolphins breathe air. They do not have gills like fish do, but they do have lungs and a blowhole on their upper body. The same blowhole whales and dolphins use to make various sounds.

30. Most dolphins cannot see objects in front of them. Dolphins and even killer whales, when looking at objects, lie on their side and examine them with the help of one or the other eye.

31. The interaction of a dolphin and a person always has a beneficial effect on the psychological state of the latter, therefore, such a treatment as dolphin therapy appeared. In most cases, such therapy helps children with certain communication disorders. Autism, attention deficit disorder and even cerebral palsy can be treated with these amazing animals.

32. Dolphins interact well with people, can be trained, they can be easily tamed. These animals were trained for military purposes by the two largest world powers of the twentieth century - the USA and the USSR. Dolphins have been trained to find mines, rescue sailors from sunken ships, and even destroy enemy submarines, unfortunately dying in the process.

33. The average speed at which a dolphin swims is 5-12 kilometers per hour. It depends on the types and situations. Some of the fastest dolphins can move at speeds up to 32 km/h.

34. Dolphins can dive up to 304 meters deep.

35. Dolphins are the only animals that give birth to their babies tail first. Otherwise, the babies would drown.

Pilot whale dolphin

36. Scientists have found that bottlenose dolphins make 17 different sounds that they use to communicate with each other. Interestingly, 5 sounds are also understood by other members of the family - pilot whales and white barrels.

37. Dolphin sonars are the best in nature, surpassing by several times bats and similar devices created by people.

38. Dolphins have two stomachs: one is for storing food, and the other is used for digestion.

39. Despite the fact that the average lifespan of dolphins is only 20 years, some centenarians can live up to 50 years. It has even been recorded that one of the oldest dolphins lived for 61 years.

40. If there is not enough food in their area of residence, dolphins may migrate to other places. New habitats depend not only on the availability of food on them, but also on the temperature of the water, which should not be lower than the temperature of their bodies.

41. A dolphin weighing 120 kilograms needs to eat 33 kilograms of fish per day, while these animals do not get fat and never become obese.

42. These marine animals hunt only in packs, and they cannot live alone either. Dolphin families sometimes number about 100 individuals. Thanks to these abilities, the animal is never left without plentiful food.

43. Since dolphins live in a community, its problems are not alien to each individual. If a sick or weak dolphin appears in the family, then all relatives help him and push him to the surface, giving him the opportunity to take a breath of fresh air.

44. Dolphins use echolocation to hunt. Their hearing is arranged in such a way that animals can determine the number of objects, their volume and the degree of danger from the reflected signal. Dolphins can stun their prey with high frequency sounds, paralyzing them.

45. Scientists suggest that echolocation is an evolutionary process that animals acquired relatively recently.

pink dolphin

46. The pink dolphin is considered a unique species and lives in the Amazon.

47. Dolphins swim in circles and always watch with one eye so that predators do not sneak up on them. After a certain period of time, they begin to swim in the opposite direction and observe with the other eye.

48. Ordinary human hearing is unable to catch the dolphin roll call. Humans perceive sounds up to 20 kilohertz, while dolphins emit signals at frequencies up to 200 kilohertz. Scientists have found that in the speech of these animals there are more than 180 different whistles. Dolphin sounds add up to syllables, words and even phrases. And representatives of dolphins from different regions whistle each in their own dialect.

49. These marine animals can jump to a height of about 6 meters.

50. Dolphins are highly revered among many peoples. In some countries, people are seriously concerned about the issue of captive dolphins. In order to protect animals, relevant laws are even being adopted. Laws against keeping dolphins in captivity have been passed in Costa Rica, Chile and Hungary. Not so long ago, India joined these countries. Hindus generally consider dolphins to be individuals, and therefore they, just like people, should have rights. This means that their exploitation in captivity is unacceptable.

The sea and marine animals are endowed with a huge attractive force. From time immemorial, the water, ocean element has been for man both a source of benefit and a carrier of threats. And if only a few people can find something attractive in fish and algae, then few will remain indifferent to dolphins.

Do dolphins present interesting facts for children? Undoubtedly. And above all, this is a fairly high level of their intellectual development in comparison with the vast majority of other living beings.

Biologists have found out that dolphins have a rather complex system of signals (not a “language”, as the copper-headed mysticists stubbornly call it, but still this system is more complicated than that of ordinary fish). This is not surprising, because mammals are evolutionarily more perfect. The study of dolphin abilities is insufficient: experiments give sharply contradictory results.

What should you know about dolphins?

First of all, these are not fish, but aquatic animals (animals). Moreover, water animals that swim extremely fast. Dolphin can easily compete with many types of ships. It is popularly believed that they jump out of the water to have fun or express joy. This is mistake. In fact, dolphins need jumping in order to increase their speed for a short time when hunting for fish (since air is a less dense medium).

At least seventy varieties of "brilliant beaks" live in the seas of our planet. They all have smooth skin, which allows them to move through the water quickly and with little effort.

Dolphins present interesting facts for children and another plan. For example, differences between species are not only in mass and color, but also in the shape of the nose. All dolphins live only in warm seas. At the same time, it is believed that they are inclined to protect people from danger. Eleven years ago, four New Zealand lifeguards were protected from a white shark by a pod of bottlenose dolphins for forty minutes.

Interestingly, dolphins always hunt in packs, and are unable to survive alone. Moreover, the group of dolphins has about a hundred individuals. If one of them falls ill and cannot ascend, the others push her up into the air.

A separate topic is the so-called Gray's paradox. Before the Second World War, James Gray established that the speed of dolphins reaches thirty-seven kilometers per hour. It cannot be achieved by muscle strength alone. And only by the seventies in the USSR it was possible to clarify the biological mechanism that helps to do this.

It is often said about dolphins that they are the smartest, kindest and most sympathetic creatures, as opposed to. Dolphins have saved people more than once, showing skill and quick wit. By and large, despite the huge number interesting facts about dolphins We know very little about them. One thing is for sure, dolphins are intelligent. Perhaps they are the most intelligent creatures on the planet. For communication, they use a language consisting of 14 thousand signals. The brain of dolphins is larger than that of a human and is more complex.

People have noticed that the dolphin can be beneficial to humanity. They are already used for treatment, solving civil and military problems. Let's hope that they will not be passive slaves, like horses, in the service of human interests.

There is a great film shot about dolphins, I recommend watching:

Dolphin therapy is used to treat ailments that cannot be dealt with using medication and physiotherapy. Children with diseases of the nervous system, neurological and psychological disorders feel better after communicating with dolphins.

The ultrasound emitted by dolphins works like sonopheresis. Unlike procedures that use laboratory settings, the ultrasound produced by dolphins is “alive” and works better. Do not confuse simple communication with dolphins and therapy. For treatment with the use of dolphins, an individual program is required, regular joint swimming, in the presence of a doctor-instructor. Rehabilitation of adults with the use of dolphin therapy is also possible. Centers where medical sessions are carried out exist at dolphinariums. In Crimea, there is the International Center for Dolphin Therapy, a center for balneology and rehabilitation. Being in their familiar atmosphere, in sea water, dolphins give their kindness to patients, helping to adapt to life. Truly interesting creatures, by the way I advise you to read

The first experiments on training dolphins to perform military tasks were undertaken at the beginning of the 20th century. For many years, dolphins have been in combat service in the US armed forces. The Vietnam War, Operation Desert Storm, the Iraqi fighting - everywhere there was work for these cute mammals. Currently, India, China, and Japan are showing interest in dolphins as a means of fulfilling military tasks.

In the Soviet years, the base of the USSR for the training of dolphins was located in Sevastopol. Fun Fact: Dolphins turned out to be completely unsuitable for attacking the enemy and for the role of kamikaze. They refused to perform actions that directly threatened them with death or injured people. But they successfully discovered mines covered with silt and sand. This task was beyond the power of even experienced divers. Dolphins do not use sight when searching, but echolocation, which allows them to detect objects that are not visible to the eye. Finding the desired object, the dolphins dropped the buoy, marking the place of the find. Divers could only search well in the indicated place.

Being in cages, dolphins, having found an outsider in the water area, gave signals, indicated the direction where to look. When in the water, dolphin detection results for a diver reach 100%. Prepared individuals can detect the enemy, detain, remove his mask and bring him to the surface.

Of course, the capabilities of dolphins are not limited to helping the military. They can provide invaluable assistance in underwater research. Already, these smart mammals are taking photographs, helping researchers find sunken ships and archaeological sites. It is supposed to use dolphins to control gas pipelines laid under water.

Many dolphins are also found in the Maldives. In these beautiful places at dawn, you can often find whole flocks of these beautiful mammals. By the way, how much does a trip to the Maldives cost?

Dolphins have long been one of man's favorite ocean animals. They have high intelligence and a cheerful, friendly disposition. For most of us, dolphins are associated with funny acrobatic performances in the dolphinarium. However, some countries are seriously concerned about keeping dolphins in captivity and are even passing laws to protect them.

Why did dolphins deserve such respect among many peoples and become an integral part of human culture? Let's try to figure it out by studying interesting facts about these wonderful animals.

Dolphin in an aviary.

India has become the fourth country to ban the keeping of dolphins in captivity. Earlier similar measures were taken by Costa Rica, Hungary and Chile. The Indians call dolphins "a person or person of a different origin than homo sapiens." Accordingly, the "person" must have its own rights, and its exploitation for commercial purposes is unacceptable by law. Animal behavioral scientists (ethologists) say it is very difficult to define the line that separates human intelligence and emotions from the nature of dolphins.

The dolphin is the only mammal whose birth literally begins with the tail, and not with the head! Young dolphins stay with their mother for two or three years.

Adult dolphins reach sizes from 1.2 m in length and weight from 40 kg (river dolphin) to 9.5 m and 10 tons (killer whale). The brain is the largest organ in the dolphin's body. During sleep, part of the brain stays awake, allowing the dolphin to breathe while sleeping so as not to drown. The life of a dolphin is directly dependent on access to oxygen.

Dolphins have a weak sense of smell, but excellent eyesight and absolutely unique hearing. By emitting powerful sound impulses, they are capable of echolocation, which allows them to perfectly navigate in the water, find each other and get food.

Dolphins can swim at speeds up to 25 miles per hour for long periods of time. This is about three times faster than the world's fastest swimmers.

They also love to do ... surfing! For example, surfer dolphins can often be observed off the coast of the Hawaiian Islands.

The history of human-dolphin interaction begins from the moment of the first mention of these animals. It has recently been found that the body language of dolphins largely follows the rules of human verbal communication. Communication with dolphins has a positive effect on the human body, especially on the child's psyche. British experts came to this conclusion back in 1978. Since that time, the development of "dolphin therapy" began. Now it is used to treat many physical and mental diseases, including autism. Swimming with dolphins relieves chronic pain, improves immunity and even helps children develop speech.

A dolphin and a pregnant woman off the coast of Ixtapa, Mexico. Ixtapa, MexicoPicture: CATERS

An absolutely unique feature of dolphins is that they can "look inside" a person, like an ultrasound device: for example, they quickly determine the pregnancy of a woman. The feeling of a "new life" is often very emotionally exciting for dolphins, they react violently and joyfully to pregnant women. As a rule, pregnant women are not allowed to swim in the enclosures (although this may be the best time to socialize), so as not to take away the attention of animals from other visitors and avoid an involuntary "emotional attack" on the unborn baby.

A touching example of human care for animals: the shelter feeds a 10-day-old dolphin who has lost her mother.

He already has a best friend - a penguin.

Dolphins easily and friendly communicate with other animals, and they reciprocate.

Dolphins study a tiger cub at a safari park in Ginseng, China.

Incredibly romantic fact from the "private" life of dolphins - ethologists studying Amazon dolphins have discovered that males give gifts to potential mates. So, what gift is a female dolphin waiting for to consider a male as a candidate for procreation? Of course, a bouquet of river algae!

Due to their graceful beauty, dolphins have become popular models for photographers from all over the world. Let's see if looking at amazing photos with these animals also has an effect akin to "dolphin therapy"?

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