On Wednesday, April 3rd, we observed World Aquatic Animal Day, which highlights the importance of marine life in our ecosystem. A valued friend of Wise Owl Lifestyle generously offered to share her exceptional photographs of dolphins, displaying their playful interactions in the proximity of her boat. So, to celebrate the aquatic animals, let’s appreciate the beauty and intelligence of dolphins as they are remarkable sea creatures. Here are 10 amazing facts about dolphins:

1. Marine Mammal Not a Fish  

Even though they live underwater, dolphins are not fish. They are mammals like you and me. Like humans, they give birth to live calves and suckle them after birth. They are warm-blooded. Fish are cold-blooded.  

They breathe air like humans and cannot breathe underwater because they have lungs instead of gills. Yet they are true masters at respiration, replacing a whopping 90% of their lung capacity with one breath. Humans can replace only 15% of the air in their lungs with one breath. Dolphins get their air through a blow hole on top of their heads and spend most of their time holding their breath while underwater. 

This wonderous mastery has a downside: just a tablespoon of water in a dolphin’s lung can kill it. For comparison, humans may drown with just two tablespoons of water inhaled into their lungs. Many dolphins die tangled up in fishermen’s nets each year.  

2. Dolphins Once Roamed the Land!  

That was such a surprise! There are many theories about where dolphins came from. Palaeontologists believe that dolphins were land mammals and, about 50 million years ago, started to spend more of their time in the water. Eventually, they lost their power to walk on land, and now all they have to remind them of their past is a few vestigial leg bones and remnants of finger bones in their flippers.  

It seems weird to think of dolphins as land animals, but if you think about it, there are signs that they could have lived on land. For one, they are not fish. They have robust skeletons made of bone, not cartilage like fish or sharks. They feed their young with breast milk. They cannot breathe underwater because they have lungs, not gills, and are warm-blooded. All these signs point to them living above water at some point.  

3. Dolphins Can See Their Reflections.  

Dolphins exhibit a fascinating degree of self-awareness. They can identify their reflection when faced with a mirror or a reflective surface. This cognitive ability to recognise themselves is a characteristic shared by only a handful of species on Earth. They even love to admire their reflections. Vanity, anyone?  

4. Dolphins Are a Sacred Fish of Ancient Greece and Rome.  

In ancient Greece, killing a dolphin was considered sinful and punishable by death. The Greeks called them “hieros ichthys” or “sacred fish.”   

Dolphins were revered in both ancient Rome and Greece. Images of dolphins were even placed in the hands of Roman mummies to ensure their safe passage to the afterlife.  

5. Dolphins Are Highly Intelligent.  

Dolphins hold the record for the longest memory among all animals. Their brains are remarkable storage units. They have also been seen using tools. In Shark Bay in Western Australia, dolphins have been spotted to fit marine sponges over their beaks to protect themselves from sharp, harmful rocks as they forage for fish.  

6. They Can Turn Off Half of Their Brain.  

Dolphins have an amazing sleeping strategy. Only half of their brain goes to sleep at a time, so they can stay alert and aware even during rest. World Wildlife Foundation believes that they do this to keep an eye out for their group—to make sure they stick together—and to look out for predators like sharks.  

7. Dolphins Can Have Conversations  

Dolphins have a language of their own, the most elaborate acoustic ability in the animal kingdom. Their language sounds like whistles, clicks, squawks, squeaks, moans, barks, groans, and yelps, but they understand each other. They can even recognise their “speech” over the phone.  

Bottlenose dolphins summon their friends by distinct names when they’re separated. Some dolphins understand up to 60 words and can makeup to 2000 sentences. They can produce 700 clicking sounds per second. The sounds they make come from inside their head, underneath the blowhole.   

Not only do they communicate, but they can also speak in two voices with two different pitches at the same time. Dolphins produce whistles for communication and clicks for echolocation, the effect they use to orientate themselves in the water. It allows them to swim and talk at the same time.  

Dolphins are fascinating marine mammals and stand out in the marine world, not just for their looks but also for their social etiquette. They are the only sea creatures who use unique calls to address each other and have cordial conversations beneath the waves.  

8. Big, Folded Brains  

Dolphins are believed to be highly intelligent, and it’s no wonder. Scientists say that intelligence can be measured by the number of folds in a brain—dolphins' brains have more folds than human brains, even though they're slightly smaller. That makes them pretty smart. Dolphins can even use tools.

9. Blowing Bubbles  

It seems that blowing bubbles is their favourite pastime. They absolutely love to do this for fun. They also use this technique for a more serious endeavour: hunting. Dolphins release a stream of bubbles underwater to create a barrier that confines fish and herds them into concentrated areas for easier capture. It shows how ingenious and adaptable dolphins are. They can use their environment to their advantage.  

 10. They See and Echolocate.  

A dolphin has eyes and can see very well below and above the water. However, it can only see about 150 m around itself. To complement their sensory abilities, dolphins use echolocation — sending out sound waves that bounce off objects. This helps them identify locations and the shape and size of obstacles. Echolocation enables dolphins to navigate in murky waters and darkness. Their ability is so sophisticated that they can distinguish between a steel ball 2.5 inches in diameter and one 2.25 inches in diameter.  

These playful and intelligent creatures are vital to our planet’s health. Let’s celebrate World Aquatic Animal Day by appreciating and protecting dolphins and their underwater world. 🌎🐬💙