Buhairi Rifqa Moustafid
Dolphin is a small-toothed mammal with a curved mouth, giving the dolphin’s face a perpetual smiling appearance.
There are 36 dolphin species found across various parts of the world. Most of them live in oceans or brackish waters along coastlines.
However, there are also some species, such as the South Asian river dolphin and the Amazon river dolphin, that live in freshwater rivers.
An adult dolphin can weigh from 90 pounds (40.8 kg) to more than 11 tons (9.979 kg), depending on the species.
Specifically, the adult bottlenose dolphin can weigh from 150 to 650 kg.
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Contents
Unique Reproductive Process
The mammal that often performs in circuses seeks a mate during the mating season, which can last from a few weeks to several months.
Dolphins frequently stay with the same mating partner for several years. However, during the breeding season, they can form alliances with other groups.
These alliances can help ensure the safety of offspring and increase the chances of successful breeding.
The mammal, often symbolized as a safety emblem, usually gives birth to a calf after a long gestation period of 12 months.
When they are ready to reproduce, they usually engage in a series of activities to signify their commitment to each other.
These activities include swimming closely, synchronizing movements, and rubbing their bodies against each other.
They can also make sounds to communicate with each other. After becoming familiar with each other, they swim together and interlock their fins.
This behavior is often considered a sign of affection and helps strengthen the bond between the two dolphins.
This ‘ritual’ is also considered to strengthen the bond between partners and prepare for the reproductive process.
Advanced Communication and Expression of Love
These mammals have the most diverse vocal range among other animals. They use these sounds for communication and echolocation.
The marine creatures often associated with luck by many fishermen have various vocalizations, including moans, cries, squawks, whistles, and more.
Additionally, they can express emotions, including love, even towards humans. An example is Peter the Dolphin, who reportedly fell in love with a researcher, Margaret Howe.
Howe attempted to communicate with Peter in English, leading to an unexpected emotional and even sensual bond, according to Howe.
Cooperative Hunting
This funny-looking mammal collaborates with its group to corral its prey. They create a large circle that forms a wall that is difficult to penetrate.
This circle is created by swimming using their strong tail movements.
With this strategy of restricting the movement of prey fish, the fish that are about to be preyed upon become panicked, and it is difficult to escape.
Moreover, the tail movements create sand under the sea, forming mud, thus blinding their prey fish.
When the fish feels pressured, the mammal quickly opens its jaws to allow the prey fish to enter its mouth.
Large Brains with Sharpest Memory
One of the most prominent features of dolphins is their intelligence, thanks to the large size of their brains.
A dolphin’s brain is larger than most human brains, although dolphins are not as intelligent as humans.
However, they have a smaller hippocampus and prefrontal cortex, resulting in lower intelligence
Despite not being as intelligent as humans, they are creatures with the sharpest memory after humans.
Some researchers have found that dolphins have the longest memory of all species, second only to humans.
A study revealed that they can recognize the sound of close companions even after being separated for 20 years.
Some scientists have concluded that this exceptional memory is associated with the evolution of social relationships among dolphins.
Due to their flexible social structure, most dolphins need to remember other dolphins they and dislike.
Sleeping with One Eye and a Very Long Lifespan
This close relative of killer whales often sleeps with one eye open, not because they feel insecure.
Instead, this habit is adopted because dolphins dislike automatic breathing. They consciously decide when to take a breath.
In addition, they carry out their sleeping habits for a very long time by their lifespan.
Some species can live very long lives, such as orcas or killer whales, and bottlenose dolphins.
Despite being called killer whales, orcas are actually a family of dolphins. Orcas can live up to 80 years in their natural habitat.
Meanwhile, bottlenose dolphins usually do not live more than 60 years. This unique sleeping habit is carried out for an extended period of their lives.
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In addition to their remarkable intelligence, they are highly social creatures, forming groups called ‘pods.’
They often move within groups consisting of about 2 to 30. Within these groups, they cooperate to protect themselves from predator attacks and during hunting.
Some dolphins even move in groups with hundreds of members, especially during mating seasons or in areas with abundant food.
Afterward, they return in smaller groups.