Dolphins Living in Different Habitats

Have you already seen a dolphin? Not all of us would have the chance to see one of them but let us just try to picture out their characteristic and its different types. Dolphins are considered to be an aquatic mammal. They are closely related to the whales, although they are smaller. How do dolphins breathe? Actually, they breathe through the air, but they cannot survive on dry lands. That is why we can see on some parts of the ocean where dolphins go up to the surface of the water just to breathe. If you already saw a dolphin, whether from pictures, videos, or in reality, you can observe that they have a fishlike structure. They have long snouts, and fins. Dolphins are known to possess higher intelligence than other creatures in the ocean. They are capable of creating sounds, chirps, and squeaks. The sounds that they produce are used as their means of communication. They have a sonar system which helps them navigate and find objects under water.

There are numerous types of dolphins varying from color, size, and head shape. Dolphins are categorized into two groups. One is the marine dolphin and the other is a fresh water dolphin. As we get deeper into our topic, we will be describing each category and the different types of dolphins. Let us start with the marine dolphins. These are the ones which belong to the family of delphinidae. They are commonly found in several open seas and often found on rivers. Common dolphin is considered to be an example of a marine dolphin. They are known to be the fastest dolphins. They have an approximate length of 7 feet. Unlike any other type of dolphins, they have a black ring around their eye. They also have a long green, gray, and brown stripes on the side of their body. This type of dolphin has around fifty small and sharp teeth. Common dolphin is found in most deep oceans. They love to stay on warm and temperate oceans.

The next type of marine dolphin is the black and white dolphin. They are a member of the cephalorhynchus family. They are also called as the skunk dolphin. This is because of their color. This type of dolphin is the smallest among all. It has an approximate length of 4 feet. They have triangular fins, which make them different from others. They also have thirty pairs of teeth and have a short beak. Bottle nose dolphins are another type of marine dolphins. They are scientifically known as the Tursiops. Another name for this dolphin is the cowfish. They have an approximate length of ten to twelve feet, with a short beak around three inches. They have around twenty teeth from the upper and lower jaw. They love to eat shoal fish just like the weakfish. The female bottlenose dolphins will give birth to a single young eleven to twelve months after mating. During the delivery, the young will appear out from the birth canal with its tail first. After that the young will then rise up to the surface of the water to breath. This first breath is important for its survival.

The next category is the river or fresh water dolphin. One good example is the white flag dolphin. Lipotes vexillifer is their scientific name. They are also called as the Chinese river dolphins. They were named as the white flag dolphins because their dorsal fins resemble a flag when it hits the water surface. This is considered to be a strange dolphin commonly found in the lake Tung Ting which is a fresh water lake located around six hundred miles from the Yangtze River. Experts are still figuring out how these dolphins came across the lake. Unfortunately, they have no close relatives found after several studies.

Another type of fresh water dolphin is the Amazon dolphin. During the old times, it is commonly known as the Inia. They are also called as the Bouto up to these days. The native people greatly fear this type of dolphin because they believe that the Bouto has a will to attack an individual in the water. A great story behind this creature is that the native long time ago saw this dolphin from the water resembling a beautiful princess. Always remember that not all dolphins are friendly. Some of them are capable of killing a human being.

Tips for Dolphin Watching

One of the exciting things to do during summer time is to go to dolphin watching and be mesmerized with these wonderful creatures that some people have taken for granted by illegally fishing it and butchering it for sale in the market. Dolphins are lovely to see jumping off from the waters and doing some tricks only their kinds can do. It is more spellbinding if not only one dolphin, but dozens of it are swimming and jumping back and forth in the waters – showing off to the spectators what talents they have got. In dolphin shows, the visitors generally leave the show with a wide smile on their faces, depicting the fun they had while watching dolphins do tricks.

Dolphin watching can be done at the open seas, or at water parks where dolphin watching is staged. Water parks are suitable for those who are not much into sailing on waters because they get motion sickness. Although open sea is more in-touch with nature, dolphin shows in parks can give the same excitement as other dolphin watching activities. Just make sure that when you visit the water park, there are scheduled dolphin shows. There are instances wherein dolphin shows are not available all the time. In order to be safe and not to put your money and time to waste, verify beforehand if there is a scheduled dolphin show before buying tickets. Also, as being a proactive and responsible citizen, make it sure that the water park, especially the operators of the dolphin show, have the necessary accreditation from authorities. Dolphins are an endangered species worldwide; hence, it is the only responsible thing to do to check whether the dolphins used in the shows are not illegally captured. Furthermore, during the dolphin shows, listen to the briefings and talks of the one presenting the shows. They give good insights about dolphins and its behaviors. Most importantly, do not forget to bring your cameras. Of course, you want to document everything you have seen and experience in the dolphin shows; plus, an evidence that you are really there, enjoying the dolphin show.

For those who want to hit the seas and enjoy the adventure of sea motion and splashing of waves, open-sea dolphin watching suits you best. It involves, however, good planning and choosing the right travel/adventure company where you can book your trip. It is not advisable to go to dolphin watching without experts onboard. Travel/adventure companies that venture into dolphin watching have captains and experts onboard who can watch over those who are dolphin watching. They can also serve as lecturers, explaining to the guests about dolphins and how it lives in the water. Aside from choosing a reputable company for such outing, planning the dolphin watching beforehand is very important. It should be taken into consideration that dolphins are migratory species and are not always present in a particular area. There are seasons wherein a bunch of it are present in this open sea, while there are times that the dolphins are at the other side of the state. It depends actually on the season. Furthermore, an important factor in dolphin watching is the weather. It is not safe to go to dolphin watching if the weather is not good. No one wants to get stuck in the open sea with a storm or deadly waves around. Check the weather forecast before hitting the waters. If the vessel does not serve onboard meals, bring along with you food and drinks. There are no available restaurants at the open sea; so, it is safe to bring along food and drinks because no one wants to get hungry while on board. One will also not enjoy the dolphin watching with empty stomachs. Furthermore, as mentioned earlier, a camera is a must-have in dolphin watching for documentary purposes.

Meanwhile, whether it is on water parks or open seas, dolphin watching should be observed with utmost care for the dolphins. No dolphins should be endangered just for the sake of enjoyment.