Dolphins – Aquatic acrobats!

Did you know there are more than 40 different types of dolphins? These graceful creatures live in oceans all over the world, so chances are you can find them in the waters around your country or continent, too. Like sea lions, they are very playful, curious and social. They help each other feed, come up for air, and care for the young and ill in the pod. Sound travels 4.3 times faster through water than through air. Dolphins have exceptional hearing and communicate with each other over vast distances with song-like sounds. (No wonder they inspire Andrea to make underwater music!) To help them navigate and find food, dolphins make high-pitched clicks, or echolocation. When these sounds reach an object in the water, they bounce back, and the dolphin can figure out the object’s exact location, size and shape. That means they can hear boats from miles away, too. So if you ever go sailing or diving near dolphins, don’t be surprised if a group of curious teenage dolphins shows up to check out what kind of strange creature you are! Dolphins can swim up to 40 kmh (25 mph), and leap 5 meters (almost 17 ft) out of the water and spin up to seven times! These jumps could be to remove parasites, to get a better view of where they are going, or just for fun to impress or play with their friends, sailors or divers :D Five Fun Facts: - Home: Oceans all over the world - Years on Earth: 15 million years - Favorite food: Fish, squid and shrimp - Size: 2 to 4 meters (6.5-13 ft) long - Threats: Climate change, ocean pollution, getting caught in fishing nets Want to become a Sea Life Friend? Here’s how: 1. Push the purple pledge button 2. Download, print and sign the pledge to do your best to take care of the sea and all life inside it! Thank you for being an amazing Sea Life Friend! Sources: https://dolphins.org/dolphin_information