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Looking at a dolphin you would not think it as a nose, but
surprise...it does! They have nostrils called blowholes. Over
millions of years of evoloution whales and dolphins nostrils
moved to the top of their head. This allows them to breath
by surfacing instead of them sticking their whole head out
of the water.
The first thing a newborn dolphin must do is to go to the
surface to breathe. But the baby can not swim so its mother
and a another dolphin will help push the baby to the surface
for its first breath of air. The baby will be able to swim
in about 30 min.
Dolphins are fast swimmers. When a speeding boat passes the
bottlenose dolphin, it will start to race out in front. They
will take off hitting the water and keep going.
Dolphins navigate by following the hills and mountains of
the ocean floor, by tracking the sun, by sensing currents,
and by tasting the water along the journey.
A dolphin's sound probably originates in its nasal passages.
These nasal passages are located on the top of the head. Dolphins
can make sounds to see what lies ahead. This sense is called
echolocations. The dolphins' sound waves hit an object and
the echo bounces back. Echolocation sounds are called sprays.
Sprays are so strong they can stun another whale. Dolphins
don't "point" their melons at any other sealife
except their enemies.
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