sleek gray dolphins that play in our
coastal waters. This information is
designed to help you learn a little
more about these friendly aquatic
neighbors. I hope that this knowledge
will lead you to an increased appreciation
and respect for these wonderful creatures.
to watch, they are an important part of a very
complex and fragile ecosystem. As an indicator
species, the dolphins are a barometer of the
health of our coastal waters. Providing a safe
and peaceful place to live and raise their young,
sufficient natural food, clean water and air
should be the main goal and responsibility
for all of us, whether residents or visitors.
By working together we insure that our
"Ambassadors of the Emerald Coast" will be
here to delight us for generations to come.
Dolphins are mammals. They breathe air, are warm
blooded, give live birth to babies and nurse their young.
They are not fish and should not be confused with the
fish called dolphin (also called Dorado or mahi mahi).
This fish inhabits warm temperate and tropical waters
around the world. It is a beautiful, colorful and edible
fish which is frequently served in restaurants. But it is
not related to any of the dolphins species.
the group of the toothed whales whose scientic name is
odontocetes. The other whales, called baleen whales,
have the scientific name mysticetes.
All dolphins have cone shaped teeth. They live in
temperate and tropical waters worldwide. There are also
several species of freshwater and river dolphins, all of
which are either threatened or in danger of extinction.
There are approximately 57 species of dolphins. Most
have an elongated beak called a rostrum. The difference
between porpoise and dolphin is in the shape of the
teeth. Dolphins have cone shaped teeth whereas
porpoise have spade shaped teeth. Most porpoise live in
colder waters and are smaller than most dolphins, and
they have no elongated beak.
The largest of all dolphins is the Orca, or killer
whale. It is the most powerful creature that lives
in the oceans. It is the fiercest of sea predators
and fears no other creature whatsoever.
12 months. They give birth to a single calf
weighing 25 to 40 pounds and 24 to 36 inches long.
They nurse their young for the first two years.
For the first year the calf feeds exclusively
on mother's milk. They remain with their mothers
for the first five to eight years, learning
social and feeding skills from extended mother-calf
family groups. (Adult and sub adult females and
calves of both sexes traveling together in a group
are called a pod). The male dolphins generally
play little part in the rearing process. Juvenile
dolphins of both sexes frequently leave the
mother/calf pods for extended periods of time.
Female dolphins become reproductively active
between the ages of 10 and 13 years and the males
between 12 to 14 years. Female dolphins usually rejoin
their mother's pod and males remain with other males,
often forming lifelong cooperative coalitions.
which is used for navigation and to find and obtain
food. Echo location involves the production of sound
in the nasal sacs or sinus cavities of the dolphins.
The sound is focused by the melon, an oil-filled sac
seen as a bulge on the dolphin's forehead, and then
projected toward objects in the water. Sounds that
strike any object (a fish, human, boat or ocean floor)
are reflected back to the dolphin and received by the
lower jaw, where they are passed to the dolphin's brain.
The dolphins can form sound pictures of objects based
on the difference between the density of the object
and the density of the surrounding water. Dolphin echo
location only works within the water.
Dolphins have good eyesight both in the air and in the
water. Their eyes are designed for seeing in low light
conditions. Their color vision is limited. They have no
sense of smell, but they have an excellent sense of taste.
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by Ken Schubert
