Archive for March, 2009

  • Are Dolphins Man’s Best Friend?

    Posted Mar 30, 2009 | 10 Bubbles

    This post was written by Cassidy Piersall

    We all know that dogs are man’s best friend; but who says you can’t have two best friends? I say dolphins should have a best friend place in our lives, too. Even though dolphins are not common pets, they still play an important role in the human world.

    dolphin1Did you know dolphins are in the military? Neither did I! Actually, they’ve been in our United Stated Navy since 1960. That’s nearly half a century! They have been trained to deliver equipment to underwater personnel & to find and return lost objects. Not only that, but they guard boats and submarines. But hopefully they just guard from intruding people; I’m pretty sure that a dolphin can’t win against an intruding missile or other boat…

    Our Navy first began using dolphins when they decided to study the underwater sonar capabilities of dolphins so they could learn how to make better ways of detecting things underwater. They found out that they could learn how to increase the speed of their boats and submarines by researching dolphins on their ability to swim fast and dive deep.

    And you wouldn’t believe this…they even do underwater surveillance! They just have to hold the camera in their mouth. Hopefully it doesn’t taste bad! Our dolphin friends have been used in the Cold War, Vietnam War, Persian Gulf War, and possibly others.

    Dogs are also in the military and are extremely good at saving peoples lives. So… I guess we have two best friends after all: dogs, our land best friends, and dolphins, our marine best friends!

    * image source: http://urlbrief.com/a60fb7

    10 Comments;

  • Facts About Dolphins Word Search

    Posted Mar 25, 2009 | 9 Bubbles

    This post was written by Cassidy Piersall

    Not only do we love dolphins, but we like to make learning about dolphins fun! Here’s a great printable dolphin word search you can use at home, in your classroom, or in the car on the way to SeaWorld!

    dolphin-word-searchi
    And in case you haven’t gotten enough, here are more cool dolphin facts!

    9 Comments;

  • As seen on World News with Charles Gibson. SeaWorld Dolphin Bubbles.

    Posted Mar 11, 2009 | 115 Bubbles

    115 Comments;

  • Four Dolphins, Four Fun Facts & Oodles of Reasons to Love These Animals!

    Posted Mar 2, 2009 | 27 Bubbles

    This post written by Cassidy Piersall.

    bottlenose-dolphin1BOTTLENOSE DOLPHIN
    Anytime dolphins are spoken of, these babies are sure to come to mind. Quickies:

    • They prey on mainly small fish and squid.
    • They can travel at speeds of 18 miles an hour.
    • They can make up to 1,000 clicking sounds per second! That’s insane!
    • That blowhole of theirs is their nose.

    commersons-dolphin3COMMERSON’S DOLPHIN
    This is probably not a picture that comes to your mind when you think ‘dolphin’. Quickies:

    • These poor guys are hunted for crab bait.
    • They have harlequin-shaped markings on their body.
    • They’re only found on the southern tip of South America and an island off Africa.
    • Live in groups of 1-3, but large schools are occasionally formed.

    spinner-dolphin1SPINNER DOLPHIN
    Not the most famous dolphin out there, but a beautiful one. Quickies:

    • They reside in tropical pelagic oceans all over the world.
    • They are 1.7-2m long.
    • It is unknown of their conservation status.
    • They can be seen in schools from 5 to 200. But schools of 1,000 have been reported.

     dusky-dolphin1
    DUSKY DOLPHIN
    And save the best for last, the Dusky Dolphin. I’m not sure why I love this over the others, but I do. Quickies:

    • They inhabit the coastal regions below the Tropic of Capricorn all the way to the sub-Arctic.
    • They have an all white belly.
    • Schools of them can range from 20 to 300.
    • They are a very acrobatic species.

     

    (Photos are from Flickr and are CC licensed for commercial use with attribution)
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/28228039@N02/2634114641/
    http://flickr.com/photos/jurvetson/3186464038/
    http://flickr.com/photos/r_mushet/2915415087/
    http://flickr.com/photos/nikonvscanon/2427517405/

    27 Comments;