Enchanted Dolphins
ENCHANTED DOLPHINS
The pink dolphin, with its individual species that differs greatly from ocean dolphins in the Amazon region, is one of the numerous amazing and interesting creatures to capture attention. The pink dolphin lives in the Amazon River while ocean dolphins live in oceans.
However, there are many more interesting characteristics that set these creatures apart. Unlike ocean dolphins, pink dolphins have many stories about being enchanted. Turning into humans at night, bringing fish to people, and taking people to a place under the sea.
First, the color is different. Pink dolphins are just as their name says “pink”. The color is believed to be from blood flowing close to the surface of the skin. Ocean dolphins are usually gray or black. Some have stripes or different colorations. Ocean dolphins stay the same color, while pink dolphins grow pinker with workouts or excitement. With aging, they also turn pinker. Environment, water temperature, stress, and sunlight affect the pinkness of river dolphins.
Pink dolphins live in inky waters. Rainforest leaves decay and stain the waters. The waters are filled with sediment. You cannot see underneath them. Therefore pink dolphins rely on echolocation where sound echoes back to them to move through water. They can even swim among tree branches when the river floods making echolocation a reliable source. Ocean dolphins depend on echolocation to communicate and locate food. They do not have as many obstacles to face as the river dolphins. Ocean dolphins rely on echolocation but not so much because they live in clear waters.
Pink dolphins have long tube like lips that protrude from heavy thick bodies. They are about the size of performer dolphins. Their forehead is round and large like a melon. Snouts are about two feet long. They have pearl gray eyes. Ocean dolphins have pointed snouts with a streamlined body. They both have cone- shaped teeth. Both have a thick layer of fat called blubber to insulate from water. River dolphins have hairs on their nose to help them feel for food. Ocean dolphins have a few hairs on their snout but they fall out. Both have flippers to help them move about, and blowholes on top of their heads to help them breathe. River dolphins can twist about to go through trees in the rainforest while ocean dolphins cannot. Pink dolphins can even touch their tail to their nose. Both dolphins make sounds from their mouths and have good hearing. Ocean dolphins have a fin that sticks up while pink dolphins have a low ridge on their backs.
Pink dolphins rest one side of the brain at a time. Pink river dolphins release bubbles while swimming. The bubbles make beautiful sounds unlike ocean dolphins. Both species will respond to human sound. Pink dolphins do not jump out of the water as the ocean dolphins. They splash the water and blow loud for a half hour then rest for a period. Both species communicate to organize a hunt for food. Ocean dolphins enjoy humans, and will play with humans. Pink dolphins will only play sometimes. Ocean dolphins understand instructions from humans while pink dolphins generally don’t. They surface between two to three times in a minute. Ocean dolphins dive 200-300 feet in from five to eight minutes. Pink dolphins seem to have more limited interaction with other dolphins than ocean dolphins.
Both species give milk to their young after a live birth. Pink dolphins give birth to only one calf. The calves are born tail first and are about half the size of the mother. Baby river dolphins nurse for one to two years. Pink dolphins usually stay with their mother three years in which time they learn about fishing and navigating the river. The mother dolphin protects her young. Because of its size, it could be attacked by river creatures. Ocean dolphins strongest bond is
between the mother and calf. Mother dolphins watch their dolphin and protect it from danger. Mother ocean dolphins swim in and brush the little dolphin with their flippers to calm them. Calves swim to the surface to breathe in both species after they are born. The mother ocean dolphin calls her calf with a special whistle unlike river dolphins.
Pink dolphins will sometimes retrieve thrown objects while ocean dolphins always retrieve them. Pink dolphins may nip divers, take someone’s hand under their flipper, or rub canoes. Ocean dolphins perform in shows, unlike pink dolphins. Ocean dolphins seem to really enjoy the company of human’s. River dolphins do interact with humans, but not in the same way it seems as ocean dolphins or as much.
Both species of dolphins mostly dine on fish. Catfish is the favorite food of the pink river dolphin. Pink dolphins eat mainly fish but will eat other ocean creatures like crab. They are said to consume more than fifty different species of fish. Ocean dolphins eat many fish too. They will also eat squid and grey mullet. Both have their differences in the other kind of creatures they consume.
The two species are similar in some ways and very different in others. They are both amazing species. Dolphins are amazing creatures of the ocean and rivers of this earth. They are sleek beautiful ocean animals we see jumping up from the water with their acrobatic tricks, and just as amazing enchanted dolphins that capture human attention like a child who cries for its mother.
