The Amazing Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphin

by John Adams

One of the most delightful visual highlights of any trip to beautiful St. Simons Island is the opportunity to view a pod of dolphins as they move up and down the coast, leaping playfully from time-to-time, as they go about their God-given business of daily life. I find it absolutely remarkable that these wonderful creatures are mammals, breathing fresh air just like you and me, and are highly intelligent.

Dolphins are capable of complex problem solving. They thrive on social interaction. Dolphins not only have the ability to learn as individuals, but also can later pass that same knowledge on to their offspring.

Dolphins use tools. They are known to use sea sponges to protect their rostrum (beak) while foraging on the bottom of the ocean. And they pass this knowledge on to their young.

An Atlantic bottlenose dolphin will be almost 8 feet long and 500-700 pounds. In the wild, their typical lifespan is about 17 years. Dolphins are second only to humans in brain-tobody weight ratio.

Dolphins can make up to 500 clicking noises per second. These sounds travel underwater until they encounter objects, then bounce back to their dolphin senders, revealing details like the location, shape, and size of their target. This is, in fact, a form of sonar.

Because they can only breathe consciously, dolphins shut down one hemisphere of their brains in order to avoid drowning while sleeping. While resting, the other half of the brain monitors what’s going in the environment and controls breathing functions.

Dolphins have been trained for military uses such as locating sea mines or detecting and marking enemy divers.

Dolphins don’t make any noises with their mouth; they don’t even have vocal cords. All sounds come through the dolphin’s blowhole, at the top of their heads. Atlantic bottlenose dolphins have between 80 -100 conical teeth, and swallow their food whole. They eat fish, shrimp, eels, and squid.

As all mammals do, dolphins are actually born with hair. A baby dolphin is born with whiskers on its upper jaw. These usually fall out soon after birth.

An Atlantic bottlenose dolphin can, on average, hold its breath for 5-7 minutes.

Surely we can all agree that these incredible animals make up a wonderful part of our environment, the one we call St. Simons Island.

JOHN ADAMS is American by birth and Southern by the Grace of God. He has never lived outside of Georgia, and commutes between homes in Decatur and St. Simons Island. Learn more about him at RealEstateCoffeeBreak.com

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