Dolphins are cetacean mammals closely related to whales and porpoises. There are almost forty species of dolphin in 17 genera. They vary in size from 1.2 m and 40 kg, up to 9.5 m and 10 tonnes.
Fast Facts about Dolphins
1. The common dolphin is generally found around the Mediterranean Sea but are also commonly seen in deep off-shore waters and to a lesser extent over continental shelves that are preferred to shallower waters.
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2. Dolphins travel in groups of around 10-50 in number and frequently gather into schools numbering 100 to 2000 individuals.
3. Common dolphins are among the fastest swimming marine mammals, with some possibly reaching speeds of over 40 km/h.
4. Compared to other animals, dolphins are believed to be very intelligent.
5. Dolphins are carnivores (meat eaters).
6. Dolphins can stay up to 15 minutes under water, but they cannot breath under the water. They have to come to the surface to for water at different intervals to get air.
7. They are very entertaining due to the leaps that they make out of the water. Some of them leap up to 30 feet in the air as they do so.
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8. Dolphins communicate with each other by clicking, whistling and other sounds
9. Dolphins are mammals; this means that they nurse their babies with milk from the mothers.
10. The bottle-nose dolphin is a long-lived dolphin species with a lifespan of 40-45 years for males and more than 50 years for females.
