A majority of dolphins will mate during the spring and summer seasons. ‘Bull’ is the name assigned to male dolphins and ‘Cow’ assigned to female dolphins. The behavior of courting dolphins is often consists of both the male and female dolphins bumping their heads against each other. When a female dolphin becomes pregnant they remain so for a period lasting up to a period of 10 to 12 months. It is typical that the female dolphin will only give birth to one baby often called a calf during any one given pregnancy.
Once the calf is born, the calf will swim to the surface of the water for their very first breath of oceans air. These newborn dolphins are only about a third of the length of their mother. Female dolphins, much like all other female mammals, have milk producing glands. The newborn calf will extract the milk from their mother’s nipple. The female dolphin will nurse and care for their young for periods lasting up to three years. The male dolphin is not present during the caring process for the calf.
A majority of dolphin species live for a period lasting up to 25 years. There are some rarer instances where pilot whales (don’t let the name confuse you, as Killer whales, and Pilot whales are considered dolphins) can live up to 50 years. Of all the greatest oceanic predators sharks are the number one prevail and dolphin predator.
There are a handful of dolphins that have perished from swimming into shallow water, as well getting too close to shore, thus they have no possibility to escape back into the deeper water. Majority of marine biologists have concluded largely that a majority of the dolphins do die from natural causes. We have acquired most of our knowledge about the domicile habits of all species of dolphins from in-depth study of dolphins through zoos and aquariums. Killer whales are known to live within groups of 17 to 18 different killer whales; as bottlenose dolphins often reside within groups of up to 12 other bottlenose dolphins.
There are some instances where the varying species of dolphins will merge thus creating a heard, which can consist of a wide range of dolphin species from 100 to 1000. Dolphins will talk with each other in a variety of methods. For instance, they usually use a comprehensive set of clicks and whistles which have been called phonations.
The sounds are produced in the air filled sacs that connect to the dolphin’s blowhole. They often communicate by smacking their flukes on the water surface. Dolphins move throughout a body of water by fluctuating their flukes in a downward upward motion. They employ their flippers to make sudden turns and sharp stops. Dolphins don’t usually go to deep into the water although they possess the ability to do as such. There are some dolphins that have been trained to traverse more than 1000 feet deep into a body of water.
An increasingly important fact to remember about dolphins is that when they dive their lungs collapse and their heart rate begins to lessen. By doing so the dolphins body can adjust to the increasing pressure of going deeper into the water.
