Dolphins

1 Pages 355 Words

Dolphins and whales are part of the same family. Their ancestors lived on land. They are mammals. They breathe air from on top of the water. They need to breathe every six minutes. River dolphins are blind. The Ganges river dolphin can live up to twenty-eight years.

Dolphins are smart animals. They communicate by squeaks and clicks. Each one has a different whistle.

The dolphins colors are gray, black, white, dark brown and pink. A bottle nose dolphin can weigh up to four hundred forty pounds and be three feet. Dolphins can grow up to seven feet. The killer whale which is a kind of dolphin can grow to over thirty feet long. Dolphins ear shrimp, small fish and small squid. Sometimes they catch fish by whacking the fish with their tail.

Bottle nose dolphins live in all oceans of the world. Dolphins swim close to the shore. Dolphins will swim very close to the shore as you walk. River dolphins have long beaks and can turn their heads up, down and sideways. River dolphins live in Asia and South America.

They travel in a way called porpoising, which means they travel together in pods and jump out of the water. They follow and race boats looking for unwanted fish thrown overboard.

Baby dolphins are born not hatched from eggs. Mothers have babies every two or three years. They drink their mothers milk.

People pollute the water and dump poisons in it and the dolphins get stranded on the beaches. The dolphins strand themselves because of the poisons that get in their body. Dolphins also die because they get caught in nets of hooks of fishermen. Tuna fishermen accidentally catch dolphins in their nets. The dolphins die because they can’t breathe.

In 1972 the U.S. government passed the Marine Mammal Protection. This helps protect dolphins in the wild. People can help by keeping the water clean by keeping oil, trash, chemicals and food waste out of the water. Fishermen can help by not using nets or bringing their nets more o...