All About Dolphins - Page 4

Our Friend the Dolphin

More than just being a fascinating sea creature and fellow mammals, dolphins and humans have a history of positive interaction with one another. Dolphins routinely interact with swimmers and divers in a very playful fashion, swimming closely, nosing around and even offering a lift when a person gently grabs onto the dorsal fin. They are quite genial and there are tales of dolphins offering aid to sailors swept overboard or injured swimmers and surfers. It's always fun to have dolphins around while swimming, diving or snorkeling, their bright, playful personalities are very endearing, creating a happy and memorable spectacle. They are also being used in aquatic therapy more and more with very positive results.

Family Ties

Dolphins live in groups referred to as pods. Pods are coherent, long-term social units that vary in size and structure although composition is largely based on age, sex and reproductive condition. Many pods are composed of mother-calf pairs and pods of mature females and their recent offspring, while others occur in mixed-sex and single sex groups. Some adult males are observed to be alone, in pairs or occasional trios, moving between female groups in their age range, pairing up with females for brief periods. Adult males rarely associate with sub-adult males. At times, several pods may join for short periods to form herds or aggregations of up to several hundred animals. Whatever the size of the group, social hierarchy may often be observed in bottlenose dolphins.

A Long, Full Life

Census data from various conservation organizations and scientific study of dental material suggests that the average lifespan of a Bottlenose dolphin is about 20 years or less. While currently not endangered, it is important for us all to help conserve this beautiful creature. Their predators are generally various types of sharks, killer whales and disease such as bacteria and parasites. Pollution is also a factor in many areas, having caused the deaths of large numbers of dolphins in coastal areas. Many conservation organizations are making efforts to prevent this type of ecological disaster.