Featured
See more great educational videos from explore.Intelligent, with a Sense of Humor: The Life of dolphins
Posted on 17. Nov, 2009 by Dee in Marine Life
Even though dolphins live in the sea and swim, they are actually mammals. This means that they are closer related to us than they are to fish! Dolphins are extremely intelligent, sociable animals and belong to the same family as whales and killer whales. Being mammals, these animals breathe with the help of lungs and exhale through a blowhole at the top of their heads.
Dolphins usually live in large groups called herds that could even number in the hundreds and eat crabs, fish, squids and other small sea creatures. Families are extremely close knit and mothers take care of their young for many years. In fact, if a member of a herd is hurt, the other members will hold the injured animal up, helping it breathe, and feed it and nurse it until it gets better. Dolphins’ biggest predators in the sea are killer whales, which incidentally are also marine mammals, which hunt in herds.
Did you know? Dolphins are the second most intelligent species on earth, right after human beings. Scientists have found that they are even smarter than our nearest animal cousins, the chimpanzees!
