Writing Assignment Service

Report on Dolphins

When we think of graceful aquatic animals it would not be rare occurrence for one to envision a majestic dolphin jumping through the waves. Dolphins are, after all, some of the most beautiful and intelligent mammals in the world. They can be found all over the world, in every ocean, although their numbers have been slowly decreasing due to commercial fishing.

Dolphins are carnivores and eat meat, including fish, squid, seals, and even other dolphins, in order to survive. Their size can vary wildly, too. They can grow from 3 feet all the way up to 25 feet in length and weigh anywhere from 90 to 8000 pounds. They are social animals and tend to travel in large groups, also known as pods. They are also very playful and curious. They’re always surfing the wave, jumping out of the water, and racing with the other dolphins in their group.

Although many of us hear “dolphin” and picture the famous bottlenose variety like Flipper, but there are over 30 different types of dolphins and even a few “whales” that are actually in the dolphin family, like the killer whale and the pilot whale.

Dolphins have amazing hearing, but their sight is far from perfect.  In order to get around without bumping into thing they use echolocation. Echolocation is a type of sonar that bounces their own chirps and squeaks off nearby obstacles to determine distance of other animals and items around them. In theory they can “see” objects by listening to their own noises in the water.

Being a mammal comes with its own set of rules and restrictions. For one, when dolphins give birth, it’s live and the baby dolphin, or calf, drinks milk from its mother. Also, dolphins have to breathe air in order to survive. How does a dolphin get to sleep if it’s constantly having to surface for air? Well, dolphins are adapted to living in water and have learned how to rest a half of their brain at a time. One half sleeps while the other stays just awake enough to make sure to surface every now and then for a breath.

Dolphins are amazing creatures. They are as entertaining as they are intelligent. They are occasionally hunted or caught, whether intentionally or not, but luckily many are protected by the MMPA, or Marine Mammal Protection Act, so hopefully they’ll be able to stick around and be enjoyed by many generations to come.