25 facts about dolphins

Dolphins usually do not live alone. They have a complex social structure, and seems to have a wide range of emotions, including a sense of humor.
There are 32 species of marine and four species of river dolphins.
The murder of dolphins in ancient Greece was considered blasphemous and punishable by death. The Greeks called the dolphins "sacred fish" and gave the oracle of the sun god Apollo at Delphi on Mount Parnassus form of a dolphin.

Residents of Rome suggested that dolphins spend soul to the "Islands of the Blessed." In the hands of the Roman mummies were found images of dolphins, which presumably meant to ensure their safe passage into the afterlife.
Famous philosophers such as Pliny, Herodotus, Aristotle described Elian and compassion, friendship and almost moral nature of dolphins.
Have been found carved images of dolphins from the sea in the distant desert town of Petra in Jordan.
Dolphins use teeth only to capture but not for chewing food. They simply do not have the jaw muscles for chewing.
Some dolphins can detect up to 60 words of which may be up to 2000 proposals.
Tablespoon of water in the lungs dolphin easily drown him. In turn, a person can drown after infuse 2 tablespoons of water.
Dolphin calf must learn to hold their breath during feeding.
The female dolphin can assist in difficult births another female. At this time the dolphins nearby, guarding the female giving birth to float around it for protection.
Blowhole is a continuation of the nose dolphin, which moved up to the top of the head.
Air is discharged from the dolphin blowhole at speeds exceeding 160 kilometers per hour.
Dolphins do not have a sense of smell (it is not effective in water), but they have a sense of taste. Like humans, they can distinguish between sweet, sour, bitter and salty tastes.
Eyes dolphin produce "dolphin tears," slippery secretion, which protects the eyes from foreign objects and infections, reduces friction between the surface of the eye and the surrounding seawater. Sea dolphins see well enough as under and above water.
Dolphins "see" including using echolocation. They emit a series of sounds in the ultrasonic range, and "catch" their reflection with the help of special organs. When the sound reaches the object, the echo returns to the dolphin, which allows it to literally feel the distance to it, shape, density, location and texture.
Dolphin can play trills sound for communication and ultrasonic vibrations for echolocation simultaneously.
120-pound dolphin eats about 33 pounds of fish a day, which is similar to human food in the 15-22 pounds of steaks a day. But unlike human dolphin is not gaining fat mass.
With the help of their "echolocation" dolphins can distinguish their relatives, as well as metal objects of different sizes and compositions.
Dolphins are able to use the Earth's magnetic field to navigate their way, so scientists believe that some of the coast, where there are dolphins, have anomalous magnetic field.
Sometimes dolphins kill sharks by ramming their "beaks».
Dolphin sonar can not detect thin strands of fishing nets, which is why millions of accidental drowning entangled animals.
Researchers suspect that dolphins can also use their "vocal" not only for echolocation, but also to stun or paralyze the victim during the hunt.
While the majority of wild animals avoid contact with people, wild dolphins are known to love to play and interact with people, especially with children.
Dolphins can not breathe reflexively, as humans do, and die if placed under general anesthesia. During sleep, the only one hemisphere of the brain dolphin sleeps, the other necessarily awake, thereby tracking and controlling the hazard function of internal organs.
Young dolphins love to play around the boat, under the surfboards, and even help the fishermen, making it clear when networks become clogged with fish and it's time to pull them.