Hello "Billingshurst Junior School".
A special page for Billingshurst Junior school.
Hello to Rebecca Castle and school chums.
Thank you Rebecca for your letter which arrived today, Dolphin Care Uk were pleased to hear from you and hope to answer some of your questions right now.
Q1 Why do dolphins jump out of the water when boats aren't around?
Some researchers think that dolphins leap out of the water as a form of play.
Others say a dolphin leaps as a way of ridding itself of critters that attach to its body.
Dolphin Care Uk think it is a way of keeping track on the rest of the pod and possibly to help locate sea birds in the distance, which is a way of knowing there is food up ahead..
What do you all think is the reason?
Q2 I would also like to know if they need air to live?
Well Rebecca the short answer to this is YES, they do need air to live.
Let me explain, Dolphins spend their lives submerged in water. However, just as we do, they need air or oxygen to breath. When a dolphin needs to take a breath, it comes to the surface of the water and takes in air through its "blowhole.".
The dolphins "blowhole" is an opening on the back of the head that looks like a small mouth. It opens and closes, and often a mist of water can be seen shooting from it. This blowhole is the dolphin's way of breathing. The mist is simply the water on the dolphin's skin being blown away as the dolphin exhales before taking another breath. Once the dolphin takes a breath, the blowhole closes so no water can get in the dolphins lungs and it swims and dives just as always.
Hope you are happy with the answers Rebecca, below are some other questions other children have asked
Do dolphins sleep? A dolphin sleeps by resting half of its brain at a time. One half stays awake and the other half rests.
How do dolphins protect themselves? Dolphins have tremendous strength and speed and use these two adaptations to escape danger. They also use their head to ram predators for protection.
How do dolphins communicate? Dolphins are thought to have "signature whistles," which are unique vocalizations that are used in communication.
How many calves do dolphins have in their lifetime? Female dolphins often have one calf every three years. Some of the oldest females in their 50s and have had five known calves in their lifetime.
What bodies of water do they live in? Dolphins live all over the world! Most live in saltwater, but there are a few species that live in freshwater. (rivers)
What are their main predators? Sharks! and Killer Whales. (Orca)the Largest dolphin.
How is their eyesight? Research suggests that the vision of a dolphin is similar to that of a cat. They can see very well!
How many species of dolphins are there? There are 32 species of dolphins around the world.
What is the smallest dolphin? The biggest dolphin is the killer whale/orca and the smallest dolphin is the Tucuxi that lives in the freshwater Amazon River. The orca grows to 32 feet long, whereas the tucuxi is just 5 feet long.
Which dolphin is most popular? In our opinion, the bottlenose dolphin!
How can you tell how old a dolphin is? Growth marks in dolphin teeth are used to determine age much like the rings in a tree determine the tree's age.
For lots more information on dolphins visit our website further,by navigating on the right.
Well Rebecca I hope we have helped you with your questions and other questions we have been asked.
Dolphin Care Uk will be sending you some photographs and other information in the post very soon.
It was very nice to hear from you and Dolphin Care Uk wish you and your school chums all the very best for the future.
Work hard at what you do and Learn well.
Good luck to you all and kind regards from Dolphin Care Uk