in ,

12 Cool Facts You’ve Probably Never Heard About Dolphins

12 Cool Facts You've Probably Never Heard About Dolphins

Dolphins are arguably the most interesting sea animals on the planet. There is so much to learn about them that the more we discover, the more awesome they become. Amazingly, they have some human-like attributes that make them stand out in the animal kingdom.

Here 12 cool facts you probably didn’t know about dolphins

1. Archaeologists believe dolphins once had legs and were actually land animals. The idea is that they they are closely related to hippos but eventually lost their legs and evolved into marine animals. The presence of fossil records as well as the fact that they need air to breathe confirm this.

2. Dolphins have a voracious appetite. They can eat large amounts of food ranging anywhere between 15-30 pounds of fish. Moreover, their diet consists of an interesting mix of different foods including squids, fish, and crustaceans. Their stomachs have also evolved to ease rapid digestion.

3. These super smart aquatic animals actually have names for each other! Research suggests that they can call out to each other by mimicking the mode of communication of the specific dolphin they want. Dolphins communicate by producing whistles.

4. Although modern dolphins have been around for about 15 million years, the first image of a dolphin were discovered in the ancient city of Petra, Jordan.

5. Aside from humans, dolphins have the most advanced brains in the animal kingdom. From being able to use tools to their awesome communication skills, this is quite obvious.

6. In ancient Greece, dolphins were considered as sacred animals and killing them was punishable by death. The ancient Romans also believed dolphins carried the souls of the dead to the Island of the Blessed. Dolphins were depicted in their wall murals and tiled floor mosaics.

READ ALSO: 20 Fun Facts You Didn’t Know About Animals

7. Although it varies from specie to specie, the life expectancy of dolphins span between 12 to 80 years. Some live very long lives thanks to their excellent hunting skills and survival mechanisms.

8. Dolphins can identify objects from hundreds of yards away using a natural sonar ability called echolocation. Besides humans, they are the only animals who have this ability to identify objects.

9. Interestingly, dolphins are among the few animals who know how to use tools.

10. Unlike humans, dolphins have to prompt themselves to breathe. It is not an automatic response for them.

11. Dolphins are highly sexual in nature. Besides humans, they are the only animals who mate for fun. They can have large numbers of sexual partners during their lifetime.

12. They are pretty athletic animals, swimming sometimes at 25 miles per hour and being able to leap up to 20 ft in the air. in fact, Spinner dolphins get their name from their acrobatic ability to spin above waves.

Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Loading…

0

Comments