Bottlenose Dolphin

Dolphin is the most intelligent sea mammal. The sea is always associated with the fish. By the shape, behavior and looks the dolphin is a fish but is not like any other fish such as shark or whales that lays eggs. That gives birth to the baby and feeds them the milk very much like the mammals on the earth. We have heard many stories about the friendship between Dolphins and human beings that is enough to suggest us the intellectual level of the animal. It never attacks a human being. Dolphins like any other sea creature have adapted themselves to the environment they are living in.

There are many species of Dolphins existing on earth. Bottlenose is one of those species, which is most common and best known and found all over the world except some cold places. They live in warm water and are warm blooded like us.

• The Appearance: The size of the bottlenose Dolphin can range from 2 to 4 meters and weighs between 150 to 650 kg. The male Dolphin is bigger and longer in size to their females but the females grow faster than males. Some Dolphins live in shallow water (we see and know more about), which are smaller in size than the Dolphins living in deep oceans. These Dolphins appear gray in color. Dark gray to lighter gray on the back, the belly and the lower jaw are white.
• Body Parts: Pectoral flippers are the forelimbs of the Dolphins. Dolphins use this part of this body to steer and to stop using flukes. They also stoke one another with the pectoral flippers, increasing social bond. Flukes are used to move in the water. Dolphins propel themselves by the up and down moments of the flukes. Flukes does not consist any bones, it is made up of fibrous connective tissue. Dorsal fins also have no bones like Flukes. At the time of swimming it helps Dolphins to stabilize. They also use their tails to hunt, hitting the fish in order to catch and swallow it. The eyes and the ears are located at the sides of the head. As the ears are the inner part they are hardly seen on the surface of the body. But the dimples seen near the eyes can show you its inner ears. Their teeth are conical and interlocking. Using these teeth they can hold the fish, which are slipping from their mouth. They do not chew the fish, they swallow them whole. Dolphins have blowhole located at the top and they breathe through this blowhole. As soon as the blowhole part gets into the air, it is opened to breathe. At their head they have rostrum, which is approximately 7 - 8 cm long. The skin of the Dolphins is very smooth which help them to move in the water.
• Behavior and Communication: When we think of Dolphins the very beautiful picture of Dolphins rising from the water comes before our eyes. Frequently they come up in the air to breathe through the blowhole. They normally live and hunt in groups. They can rise to great heights and can dive deep as they are really strong and powerful. They communicate through whistles. They live by cooperating themselves, so at the time of hunting or mating they communicate within themselves through whistling.
• What they eat: Bottlenose Dolphins eat small fish like shrimp, squids and crabs. They use their tails to toss the fish up in the air and catch them. When Dolphins see the group of fish, they with the plan within themselves start hunting. If the group of fish is big they cut the group in two parts and let one group go. The targeted group is driven to the top of the water, surrounded by other Dolphins. When the small fish are trapped, they have no other place to swim and become a party for the Dolphins.
• Reproduction: Like any other mammal the courtship of male to female is involved. The gestation period is twelve months. The baby is born in swallow, warm water. The average length of a baby dolphin is one meter. The female feed the baby with the milk until twelve to eighteen months. The female only raise the offspring and the young live closely with the mother. They become mature at age of 5 to 12.

Dolphins do not have many predators. Only shark is dangerous for the younger Bottlenose Dolphins. They fight back and save themselves in a group. Even a single mature Dolphin can fight back and prove to be fatal for a shark.