Dolphins

Dolphins are very intelligent and very social animals. It is said that Dolphins are the second most intelligent animals in the world, even ahead of our close cousins the Chimpanzees. Dolphins live in groups called Pods which can include 2 – 30 different Dolphins at a time. Dolphins are complex problem solvers and love to play. They even communicate with other species of Dolphins, Whales, and Porpoises. Dolphins, like humans, learn everything from their older pod members, who teach them all the skills they need to survive on their own. Because of their curiosity, Dolphins even tend to come up and interact with humans in the wild.

Female Dolphins are ready to reproduce between 5 and 15 years old, depending on the species. Male and female Dolphins do not stay together once they have mated, and the female Dolphin has a gestation period of around 10 – 18 months. Once the Dolphin baby, which is called a calf, is born they will typically stay with their mother and her pod between 3 and 6 years. After this time, some Dolphin calves will stay within the pod permanently, while others will split off and join their own pod of other young dolphins. Dolphin calves learn everything from their older pod members. Mother Dolphins teach their calves how to hunt, navigate, avoid danger, and even to play. Calves are so reliant on their mothers and older pod members, that if they somehow become orphaned or lost, they will not survive in the wild.

Unfortunately, Dolphins, like many other marine species, face a lot of threats. These include getting tangled by fishing nets, noise pollution from boat traffic, changing ocean temperatures, boat strikes, loss of habitat, loss of food sources, and even more! Dolphins, just like people, can even get sick with different viruses, which have been more common with changing ocean temperatures. When a Dolphin, or group of Dolphins is sick, they will sometimes do something called “beaching”. They will force themselves up onto a beach or shallow area, and when the tide goes out, they will sadly die outside of the water.

Although the population status for common species such as the Common Bottlenose Dolphin are labelled “least concern”, meaning they are not endangered or threatened, there are many other species who are either endangered or critically endangered. Many endangered species are those who live in fresh water, like the Amazon River Dolphin and the Baiji Dolphin in China, who live in very close proximity with many people who also live on the river. Other species, like the Hector’s Dolphin who live off the coast of New Zealand are commonly caught in commercial fishing nets because of their small size, and closeness to the shore. However, through conservation efforts, it is possible to help Dolphin populations, like the Irrawady Dolphins, who live in the Mekong Delta of China. At one point there were fewer than 80 left, but thanks to large conservation efforts, their numbers are slowly rising.

There are many ways to help support Dolphin populations everywhere!
Pick up your trash! When you visit the beach, or even when you don’t, make sure to throw all trash away in appropriate places. When objects like plastic bags or bottles get into the ocean, animals such as Dolphins may use them as toys or view them as food and ingest them. This can be deadly.
Help reduce pollution. Pollution such as chemicals used in yard sprays, gasoline, and oil destroy the ocean and river ecosystems that Dolphins live in. Not only are they losing valuable food sources and habitat, they are getting sick from exposure to these chemicals.
Buy sustainable and safe! So many Dolphins are accidentally caught in commercial fishing nets. Make sure to only purchase sustainably caught fish from fisherman who practice safe fishing methods.
Support Dolphin safe rules and regulations. It is illegal to feed or pet wild Dolphins. This is to protect the Dolphins, and yourself! When feeding wild Dolphins, they can become sick or reliant on humans for food. Because of this, they could starve on their own in the wild.