With the recent story about a dolphin leaping into a boat and injuring a woman and her daughter, these usually friendly-finned creatures are all over the news. Generally considered one of the most intelligent mammals in the sea, dolphins are widely seen as cute and cuddly rather than dangerous. But how smart are you about dolphins? Here are eight crazy but cool facts dolphin facts you might not have heard yet!
8 Dolphin Facts You Probably Didn’t Know
- You would have a hard time sneaking up on a dolphin. They can turn their heads 180 degrees! It’s not quite The Exorcist, but it’s still kinda creepy.
- Scientists believe that dolphins give themselves names! A dolphin will use a custom set of whistles to refer to himself. Researchers have been able to mimic these sounds using computers and observe the dolphins responding to their own names and those of their pod mates.
- They can also tell you’re you. Using sonar, dolphins can tell humans apart from other large objects and fish in the sea. Scientists believe that dolphins recognize us as fellow air-breathing mammals. They are especially fascinated with pregnant women, as their sonar can penetrate our bodies and “see” inside us.
- Half brained? Dolphins can shut down half of their brain when they sleep and “switch sides” as they snooze.
- Dolphins cannot be anesthetized because they don’t breathe involuntarily like humans. They have actually to remember to breathe! An unconscious dolphin will die because it will stop breathing.
- Male dolphins can be jerks. They will isolate a female dolphin they want to mate with, interfering with her feeding ability until she gives in. They have been observed going on killing sprees when they are, er, deprived of sex for too long.
- Dr. Flipper, report to the delivery room! Dolphins will gather around a calving mother to protect her while she gives birth. In some species of dolphins, pregnancy can last up to 17 months. Gulp!
- The Killer Whale is actually… a dolphin. Like dolphins and porpoises, it is part of the cetacean group of mammals and is the largest member of the dolphin family, Delphinidae.
