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Kineton Primary Shape Gang - Dolphins

All the K P Shape Gang love Dolphins!!

Dolphins may look like fish but they are mammals. They breathe air, just like you do.

Dolphins breathe through a hole on the top of their head. It is called a blowhole.
A Dolphin swims to the surface.
It breathes out air. Water sprays up.
It breathes in and dives under water.

Dolphins are very playful, Chloe Cloud loves to swim with them!

Background

Dolphins are intelligent, social, curious, and brave. They can be found in virtually all the seas and oceans of the world. Dolphins are our favourite mammal according to a recent UK survey.

Dolphins are members of the cetacean family, which also includes whales and porpoises. There are more than 30 species of dolphin but not all live in the oceans - river dolphins are found in many countries such as Brazil, India, China and Pakistan.

Lifestyle
Most dolphins are social animals - some live in groups (called pods) of several hundred. They hunt in a variety of ways, sometimes in teams, feeding on squid, shrimp, eels and a wide variety of fish.

After a gestation period (pregnancy) of a year, a dolphin normally gives birth to a single calf that is almost half the length of its mother. It is able to swim immediately and is fully weaned at 18 months. Many calves stay with their mother until the age of three. Mature dolphins generally give birth every two to four years.

A mother dolphin shows her baby how to breathe. She teaches it how to look for food.

This Baby Spinner Dolphin is drinking milk from her mother.

If a dolphin is sick the other Dolphins take care of it.

Activities
Dolphins are very playful and acrobatic mammals. Some can swim at speeds of up to 14 knots. They sometimes "spy hop", revealing the whole head and body down to the flipper for three seconds or more. Dolphins are often seen hitching a ride, "bow riding" in the bow wave in front of a ship. Dolphins can dive to depths of more than 300 metres and can jump up to six metres in the air.

Dolphins are extremely vocal - they make two kinds of sound:

Dolphins use a series of high-pitched clicks to build up a "sound picture" of their surroundings by listening to the echoes bouncing off objects. This enables them to tell the position of their prey and even its size and shape. This is known as echolocation.
Dolphins also produce high-pitched whistles and squeals, which they use to communicate with each other.

Dolphins around the UK
More than 20 species of cetacean have been recorded in UK waters. There are at least three populations of bottlenose dolphins known to live in mainland UK waters - in the Moray Firth, Scotland, Cardigan Bay, Wales, and off the coasts of Dorset, Devon and Cornwall. The population in Scotland is the most northerly known population. Harbour porpoises, smaller cousins to the dolphin, are also resident in UK waters.

More Dolphin Facts

Largest member of the dolphin family is the killer whale (Orcinus orca), which grows to a length of 9m (29.5ft) and weighs about 10 tons. Killer whales hunt in packs and will kill fish, squid and marine mammals such as seals and whales - including other dolphins! The killer whale is found in all the oceans of the world wherever suitable prey species exist.

Many kinds of dolphins and porpoises are sociable animals and live in schools varying in size from a family group to around 1,000 individuals. Some dolphins, especially the common dolphin seem to enjoy playing around the bows of ocean-going ships. They use the pressure valve built up around the bows and "freewheel" along just in front of the ship. Dolphins are fast swimmers and can maintain a steady speed of up to 20mph of required.

The dolphins are considered to be, next to Man, the most highly intelligent of all animals. Their relative body to brain size is similar to those of humans and their ability to reason, learn and communicate has amazed scientists who have worked with these attractive and very interesting animals.

Find out more ??

DISCLAIMER; Although care has been taken in preparing the information supplied on this web site, Kineton CEVA Primary School do not and cannot guarantee the accuracy of it. Kineton CEVA Primary School cannot be held responsible for any errors or omissions. Opinions expressed within the pages of this site are those of the authors, and do not necessarily represent the views of any organisation, company or anyone associated with them.