Check Out 9 Facts About Dolphins, the Intelligent Mammals

Some people think dolphins are intelligent mammals because they watch them in shows, where they act like intelligent sea creatures. But are these aquatic mammals really as smart as everyone thinks, or are we just projecting their intelligence onto them? Here’s some great evidence about dolphins that might surprise you.

1. They Wear Sea Sponges on Their Noses

According to Georgetown University, bottlenose dolphins use marine sponges on their noses to search for food on the seabed, as well as to protect their soft beaks from crab claws and sharp rock edges. This behavior is common among female dolphins who are sired by their mother dolphins. The dolphins are able to catch fish that hide under the sand.

One theory is that the intelligent mammal dolphins know that food at the bottom of the ocean is more nutritious than food found elsewhere. That’s because fish that live on the bottom are relatively sedentary, which makes them fattier and richer in calories. Fish that live on the seabed are easier for dolphins to secure because they have difficulty escaping, usually just jumping a few meters to a safe location. That’s easy food for agile predators like dolphins.

2. Dolphins Can Set Traps And Plan Something

Dolphins are popular because they are easy to train to respond to a variety of confusing commands. Quoted from The Guardian, at the Marine Mammal Study Institute in Mississippi, dolphins are trained to collect garbage that falls into a tub and give it to trainers in exchange for fish. One dolphin named Kelly has a clever trick, in order to get lots of fish, he collects and hides pieces of paper and tears the paper into several small pieces.

This experiment shows that intelligent mammal dolphins are able to make ideas and can understand the idea of ​​​​delayed gratification. But Kelly is not finished showing his intelligence. One day, Kelly caught a seagull that landed in his tank. Then he gave the bird to a researcher, who eventually gave him a big fish. Because of this, Kelly often catches many seagulls, which he trades in exchange for more fish. Kelly teaches his son how to catch seagulls, and teaches it to other dolphins.

3. Great Mimics

Dolphins are considered to be one of the most mimic animals in the world, one of the species that excels in both vocal and behavioral mimicry. Most other species can only imitate physical actions or vocal patterns, but dolphins can do both. Monkeys, for example, can imitate us physically but not our voices, or parrots can do the opposite. What’s even more amazing is that dolphins can imitate sounds that are not found in their own ecosystem.

For example, bottlenose dolphins can imitate synthesized sounds that are different from their own vocalizations, they can copy sounds that are foreign to them. Dolphins are intelligent mammals that can imitate the behavior of other species they observe, even if the behavior is unnatural to them. There is a reason why dolphins are trained to follow human movements even though psychologically they are not naturally fully supportive. Dolphins consciously connect some parts of their anatomy to human anatomy when they follow, they know that their fins are the same as human arms.

4. Dolphins Can Get Drunk

Dolphins are one of the few animals that do certain things just for fun. Quoted from a BBC documentary, dolphins taste pufferfish poison just to get drunk. This behavior was seen in a pod of young dolphins in 2013. They carefully chewed a pufferfish to release the poison. Which is called a neurotoxin that can cause death. In fairly small amounts, the poison has a narcotic effect. The young dolphins knew exactly how long they should chew the fish and then threw it to other dolphins.

The dolphins then swam in circles without direction, as if losing their balance but they enjoyed it. Experts have not found a logical explanation for why dolphins do this other than just enjoying the pleasure of the narcotic effects of the poison. Oh yes, it should be noted that this documentary footage was taken by a camera hidden in a fake turtle.

5. Dolphins Don’t Care If Their Bodies Are Torn by Shark Bites

Did you know that apparently dolphins are really strong creatures and have great regenerative powers? The fact is that dolphins apparently don’t worry about shark bites that tear their limbs, you know. According to a researcher from Georgetown University Medical Center, some of these wounds will heal in just a few weeks, are rarely affected, and heal perfectly, leaving only minor injuries but no indentations or evidence that they have previously been bitten by a shark.

Dolphins don’t even feel pain from these wounds. This was concluded because scientists observed the reaction of dolphins when bitten by sharks, they showed no signs of discomfort even though their bodies had open wounds. The argument is because the dolphin’s body releases antibacterial chemicals and eliminates pain, cleans the injury and makes the healing process painless.

6. Technically They Don’t Need to Sleep

As mammals that need to inhale air every few moments, apparently dolphins can’t sleep without the negative effects of drowning. Dolphins and other cetaceans, such as whales, have developed remarkable adaptations.

Technically called “unihemispheric slow-wave sleep,” a dolphin’s brains shut down by 50 percent, they close their eyes in a cross-eyed manner (leaving one eye open to watch for danger) and they rest part of their bodies but remain aware of their surroundings.

Unlike all animals in the world, dolphins, intelligent mammals, can still control their movements, swim slowly, get air, and scan their surroundings for threats. It’s virtually impossible for dolphins to fall into a deep sleep, and research has shown that sleep deprivation has no effect on their ability to respond to stimuli.

7. Establishing a Symbiotic Relationship with Humans

Although they are excellent hunters, able to easily catch a variety of prey, dolphins tend to prefer to ask for their lunch right away. For example, in the city of Laguna, Brazil, dolphins are trained to work with fishermen. The dolphins will direct schools of fish toward shallower waters and signal the fishermen to cast their nets.

After they have done their job, some fishermen reward the dolphins with fish. According to Slate, this symbiotic relationship has been around since the 19th century, but it is not known for sure whether the dolphins were given by the fishermen, whether the dolphins were trained by humans, or whether the relationship occurred naturally.

8. Showing Off Their Ability as an Attraction

According to research, some bottlenose dolphins in the Amazon sometimes carry heavy objects just to show off. Hmm, similar to humans huh. Yes, some dolphins like to carry heavy objects for no other reason than to appear more attractive to enemies and to threaten other males. To be precise, this is a behavior that is often described in overly aggressive male dolphins.

Intelligent mammal dolphins that carry heavy objects with a strength of 40 times greater to attack or take aggressive action on other males. Male bottlenose dolphins that carry or carry sticks and weeds are their way of showing off their abilities, they will usually struggle on the water while holding heavy objects to show how cool and strong they are.

9. Are Dolphins Really Smart?

Although the intelligence of dolphins is their fame, some experts and researchers continue to find out whether dolphins are smart or not as many people think. For example, dolphins are claimed to have brains that are much larger than chimpanzees.

While dolphins do have very large brains (even larger than ours), brain size does not necessarily determine how intelligent the mammal is.

From the 9 pieces of evidence above, can you conclude that dolphins are intelligent mammals? Or are there actually many animals out there that are as smart as dolphins but are not well-known?

Please Contact Bali Exotic Marine Park for frequently Ast Question