DOLPHINS By Julia Jensen

TABLE OF CONTENTS 1:TITLE PAGE 2:table of contents 3:dolphin terms 4:food they eat 5:habitats 6:pink dolphins 7:life cycle of a dolphin 8:facts about dolphins 9:glossary 10:bibliography

DOLPHIN TERMS A pod is group of dolphins that swim, hunt, and play together. For example a small new born dolphin is trying to fight a grown up dolphin the baby dolphin would lose but with the help of the other dolphins in the baby dolphins pod the baby dolphin would win.

FOOD THEY EAT Dolphins are predators. They eat a verity of fish. The fish that they eat include squids and crustaceans, such as shrimp. Adult dolphins eat up to 4% to 5% of their body weight per day, but a nursing mother may eat up to 8% per day. Dolphins do not chew their food. They swallow it whole. They swallow fish head first so that the spines of the fish won't catch in their throats. If dolphins eat ground hogs they will not find their food where they live or if dolphins live on land that will not be possible because dolphins skin is adapted to the water .If a bear lives in the water(that is where a dolphin lives) and a dolphin lives in a den (where a bear lives )that can not be possible because a bear can not live in the water and the the dolphin cannot live on land .

HABBITATS Dolphins are found world wide in temperature and tropical waters , absent only from 45 degrees poleward from either hemisphere .If the dolphins lived in the poles the dolphins would die out because it would be to cold.

PINK DOLPHINS May-June 2006 Map of Pink Dolphin Sightings, Orinoco River.

LIFE CYCLE OF A DOLPHIN The life cycle of a dolphin stars as the dolphin is born. Then the calf stays with their mother for several years. They feed on their mothers milk for about 3to 5 years. Although, they start to eat small fish when they are about six months. Bottle nose dolphins grow to be 50 years old.

Facts About dolphins Bottle nose dolphins eat several kinds of fish (including mullet, mackerel, herring, cod) and squid. The composition of the diet depends very much on what is available in the area they live in and also on the season. The amount of fish they eat depends on the fish species they are feeding on: mackerel and herring have a very high fat content and consequently have a high caloric value, whereas squid has a very low caloric value, so to get the same energy intake (calories) they will need to eat much more if they feed on squid than if they feed on mackerel or herring. On average an adult dolphin will eat 4-9% of its body weight in fish, so a 250 kg (550 lb) dolphin will eat 10- 22.5 kg (22-50 lb) fish per day.

GLOSSARY 1:blubber, a fatty tissue below a dolphin's skin to keep it warm. 2:rostrum, a dolphins snout it is made up of a very hard material or skin. 3:calf: a calf is a baby dolphin 4:dorsal fin: found on a dolphins back. 5:blow hole: this is a hole at the top of a dolphin's head, used for breathing and making sounds.

Bibliography www.indianchild.com/dolphins.htm www.panda.org www.dolphins-world.com/