Dolphins have a well-developed, acute sense of hearing. Bottlenose dolphins respond to tones within the frequency range of 1 to 150 kHz. (The average hearing range for humans is about .02 to 17 kHz.).
Dolphins frequently ride the bow wake or the stern wake of boats. They have been seen jumping as high as 16 feet out of the water and landing on their backs or sides, in a behavior called a breach.
Bottlenose dolphins establish and maintain dominance over another dolphin by biting, chasing, jaw- clapping, and smacking their tails on the water.
Both young and old dolphins chase one another, carry objects around, toss seaweed to one another, and use objects to invite each other to interact.
When hunting and catching fish, a dolphin pod sometimes encircles a large school of fish and herds them into a tight ball for easy feeding. Then the dolphins take turns charging through the school to feed. Occasionally dolphins will herd fish to shallow water where they are easy prey.
Bottlenose dolphins generally do not need to dive very deeply to catch food. Depending on habitat, most bottlenose dolphins regularly dive to depths of 10-150 feet, but they are capable of diving to some depth. Under experimental conditions, a trained dolphin dove 1,795 feet.
Bottlenose dolphins live in fluid social groups called pods. The size of a pod roughly varies from 2-15 individuals. Several pods may join temporarily to form larger groups called herds or aggregations. Up to several hundred animals have been observed traveling in a single herd.
The dolphin's sleek, fusiform body, together with its flippers, flukes, and dorsal fin, adapt this animal for ocean life. A dolphin's forelimbs are pectoral flippers. As it swims, a dolphin uses its pectoral flippers to steer and, with the help of the flukes, to stop.
Bottlenose dolphins routinely swim at speeds of about 3-7 mph.
On average, a dive may last 8-10 minutes.
Adults eat about 4-5% of their body weight per day.
Dolphin Gift and Collectible Items
The close bond between humans and dolphins has made dolphin gift items extremely popular. Dolphin gift items include coasters, clocks, figurines, flags, jewelry, magnets, mouse pads, mugs, pillows, plush, puppets, t-shirts, throws, towels, and many more items.
The dolphin gift with the most demand seems to be the dolphin figurine, perhaps because figurines in particular are a small decorative item that will fit into almost any decor. Household decorative items, such as throw blankets and pillows, are also excellent dolphin gift ideas.
For children, plush dolphins and dolphin puppets are good choices for a dolphin gift.
