Adapting to life in the ocean required some serious skills for a mammal, so Dolphins have developed some incredible abilities that continue to amaze researchers.
Dolphins adapted to their environment by developing some mind-boggling abilities
Everyone adores Dolphins. Intelligent, inquisitive and playful, these special creatures have captivated us humans since the dawn of time. But dolphins didn’t get to where they are by accident — they needed to develop some pretty amazing superpowers to cope with their environment.
Adapting to life in the ocean required some serious skills for a mammal
Dolphins have developed some incredible abilities that continue to amaze researchers:
1. Sleep: Everything needs to sleep, but dolphins have found a clever workaround. They shut down only half their brain at a time while the other half remains conscious and takes over all functions. What’s more, the mammals seem to be able to remain continually vigilant for sounds for days on end.
2. Vision: Besides sonar, which is itself pretty incredible, dolphins have excellent eyesight. A panoramic range of vision of 300° allows them to see in two directions at once and even behind themselves — both in and out of the water!
3. Super Skin: Dolphin skin grows about 9 times faster than ours, and an entire layer of skin is replaced every two hours. Their skin secretes a special non-stick antibacterial gel to deter barnacles and parasites.
4. They rescue other species: There are many tales of dolphins helping humans in the high sea. Sometimes they’ll even go out of their way to help other aquatic species.
4. Respiration: Bottlenose dolphins can hold their breath for 12 minutes and dive to 550 metres (1800ft) due to hyper-efficient lungs. Dolphins have more red blood cells with greater concentrations of hemoglobin than we do.
Dolphin Superpowers confound scientists
6. Healing: Scientists are baffled by Dolphins’ ability to not only heal quickly but seemingly regenerate missing parts. And dolphins won’t bleed to death despite huge wounds, having the ability to constrict blood vessels to stem the flow.
7. Pain: Dolphins are as sensitive to pain as humans, but when inflicted with serious wounds scientists believe they are able to produce natural morphine-strength painkillers that are nonaddictive.
8. Thrust: While an Olympic swimmer can produce around 60 or 70 pounds of thrust, a dolphin is capable of 300 to 400 pounds of thrust and is one of the oceans most efficient swimmers.
9. Infection: How dolphins are able to swim with open wounds in the bacteria-riddled ocean and not die of infection, scientists still don’t know for sure, but the best guess is that dolphins have managed to siphon off antibiotics made by plankton and algae.
10. Electroreception Dolphins can actually sense the electrical impulses given off by all living things. They probably use this ability to hunt fish in turbid water and muddy sediments.
These extraordinarily intelligent and graceful creatures have also been seen to display culture, use tools, and display altruism, traits long-thought to be unique to humans.
How you can help the ocean and marine mammals
We can all take action in our daily lives and communities to reduce our carbon footprint. Not only can we help protect the environment, but many solutions can also help you save money! Here are some things you can do to actively help the ocean and marine mammals.