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Dolphins

© Jeremiah James Baldwin

Dolphins However very closely related to whale family and porpoises, dolphins are a member of the Delphinidae family. These beautiful, sleek, powerful, and very playful marine mammals can be found in any sea. Amongst their congregation there are 32 different species. All of which may be distinguished from such mammals as the porpoise by their distinct beak-like snout. As is with many whales, perhaps not to this current day but in the past, dolphins have been hunted for their oil. An oil removed mainly from their head of which is so fine, it was used to lubricate watch mechanisms. They have been hunted for this precious oil for hundreds of years, resulting in a loss of their population but they have also mistakenly fallen subject to tuna traps, in which they tangle themselves and eventually drowned.

Dolphins have jaws containing two hundred to two hundred and fifty (200-250) conical teeth. Consuming about 1/3 their weight in food each day from squid and other small fish, dolphins have the power and speed to out-distant their prey. The tail strokes up and down propelling them approximately 13 mph through the water, however they are capable of reaching short speed bursts of up to 25 mph. And like whales, dolphins breathe through a blowhole atop their head. After about 2 minutes of submerged swimming they will surface and rapidly exhale, then inhale and once again return to the depths. The lungs are physically unique in that they are capable of withstanding pressure, which to other marine animals would be hazardous. Providing this they are capable of diving quickly to depths of about 300 meters.

Along with their ability to see well, dolphins use what is called echolocation. It is a tool used by other animals such as bats, where an emission of sound is echoed off an object and depending on the length of time and the change of tone the sound carries when it returns, the animals is capable of telling where the object is. Then combine this with depth perception and it is just about as good as a second set of eyes. Imagine walking around in utter darkness, or perhaps to be blind. Having the blessing of sight removed from your character, echolocation would be a good thing to have. In some respects the ocean is much like the darkness, where there are times when the water becomes so murky you wold not be able to see 10 feet in front of you. Because of this echolocation feature, it is necessary for them to constantly emit sounds generated from an organ just below their blowhole, which is capable of producing nearly 300 different sounds.

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