Q		Do dolphins, being mammals, have any type of hair or fur on their bodies?
A		Dolphins do not have any type of hair or fur on their bodeis and they do not even have eye lashes. They just have a layer of skin which is insulated with their blubber.
Q		What is a dolphin's habitat in the wild?
A		This depends on the species and time of year. Dolphins can be found almost anywhere in the world. While different species tend to be found in certain areas they may only be present at certain times of the year. My location page gives an indication of the key areas ' Where To Find Dolphins' but if you require more detailed information then please tell me the species of dolphin in particular you are interseted in.
Q		What is a dolphin's diet in the wild?
A		Dolphins eat a variety of different foods depending on amongst other things their size and whether or not they have teeth. Dolphins favour shoaling fish, such as anchovy and herring, but will also eat squid, shrimp and even jelly fish. It is dificult to define the precise diet and feeding behaviour of individual species but a rough guide for each dolphin species can be found on the 'Dolphin Characteristics Page' . Each dolphin eats according to its size and appetite. On the average, an adult dolphin eats about 12-15 kilograms of food a day. For further information about what dolphins eat go to 'Feeding strategy and habits'.
Q		Where are the mammary glands and how many breasts do dolphins have?
A		The mammary glands are two elongated, narrow and flat organs on either side of the vagina and the 2 nipples are located in slits. (In some embryos eight rudimentary nipples were found, suggesting ancestors may have had four pairs of nipples, and possibly produced multiple young). When suckling, the young approach from the rear. The mother will often turn to her side, to aid the youngster in finding the nipple. Because cetaceans do not have lips, the calf can not suckle in the same way as terrestrial mammals. Instead, the calf grips the mother's now pretruding nipple between its tongue and the roof of its mouth to make what it is believed a "tube". This speeds feeding, since the young cannot suckle for long periods due to the necessity to breathe. Cetacean milk is creamy white in colour, and may be tinted pink. It contains an unusually high percentage of fat, and a low sugar content. This may be due to the fact that the animal must develop quite quickly. A blue whale doubles it's birth weight in only 7 days, while a cow may take 50.
Q		What diseases do dolphins get ?
A		Most dolphins tend to suffer from attacks by sharks and other dolphins or just old age. Very little is known about what diseases they suffer from but dolphins have been known to recover from even quite severe shark bites on their own with no human intervention. However, dolphins can suffer from the same diseases that people do. The most common are respiratory, skin, and digestive diseases.
Q		Should dolphins be kept in captivity ?
A		Whilst dolphins that have been kept in captivity can be studied and observed I am personally against it. Dolphins in captivity tend to be taken from the wild and many die a few weeks later due to the shock. Those that do become accustomed to life in a confined space tend to die at a much earlier age than if they were in the wild and some people have said that the dolphins go senile and should not be made to perform like circus animals.
Q		Do dolphins sleep?
A		Like every mammal, dolphins need to sleep. But the truth is that they do not really sleep at all - at least, not in the way that we do. Like humans, dolphins need to breathe air but since underwater life requires a element of breathing control, dolphins have developed a special way to sleep so that they can stay partly conscious, allowing them to continue breathing so that they do not drown. In other words they are 'conscious breathers' unlike us humans. While dolphins 'sleep' they lie suspended at the water surface or swim along very slowly. The two halves of the brain sleep independently, and never simultaneously. One side of their brain stays awake to control breathing and look out for predators, whilst the other side relaxes. They don't sleep for long periods of time like we do - they seem to cat nap for short periods throughout the 24 hour cycle. In this fashion dolphins spend about one-third of their day ‘sleeping’ in short stints ranging from two minutes to two hours.
Q		Why don't dolphins get cold during the winter or hot during the summer?
A		Who said dolphins don't get cold? In the wintertime, just as land mammals grow thick fur, dolphins increase the thickness of their insulating layer of fatty tissue (blubber).
Q		What is the difference between a dolphin and a porpoise?
A		Dolphins and porpoises both belong to the Odontocetes family. There are some key differences between the two mainly in respect of their teeth, dorsal fins and beaks. Teeth - Dolphins have cone shaped teeth and porpoises have spade shaped teeth Dorsal fin - Dolphins have curved or hooked dorsal fins and porpoises have triangular dorsal fins Beaks - Dolphins often have prominent beaks, porpoises no beaks