Sloths hold their breaths longer than dolphins. On the rare occasions that sloths leave their trees to go for a swim, they hold their breath underwater for up to 40 minutes. This is 30 minutes longer than the average dolphin’s record.
100 Mind-Blowing Dolphin Facts
A rare pink dolphin resides in Louisiana. This rare dolphin was first discovered in 2007. Its pink colour is said to come from a rare genetic mutation and no other pink dolphins have been discovered since.
Only half of the dolphin’s brain goes to sleep when asleep and the other half stays awake.
Dolphins are highly trainable creatures. During the Vietnam War, both America and the Soviet Union trained dolphins. These animals could detect mines, deliver needed equipment to divers, retrieve lost items, and protect submarines. Dolphins are very intelligent and emotional. The dolphin who portrayed Flipper chose not to return to the surface for air and died with her trainer, essentially committing suicide.
WHALES ARE DIVIDED INTO TWO MAIN GROUPS. There are two types of whales: the baleen whales and the toothed whales. Baleen whales, including humpbacks and blue whales, have fibrous ‘baleen’ plates in their mouths instead of teeth, which help them filter out and consume huge quantities of zooplankton: small prey including krill, fish or crustaceans called copepods. Whereas toothed whales, such as orcas, beluga and sperm whales, have teeth which enable them to feed on larger prey such as fish and squid. All dolphin families, including porpoises, are also classified as whales, as they are more related to their toothed counterparts.
KILLER WHALES ARE DOLPHINS. Orcas, also known as “killer whales”, are the largest members of the dolphin family. They are one of the ocean’s top predators, preying on a diverse range of marine species, which include many fish species, penguins, seabirds, sea turtles, cephalopods and marine mammals such as seals and even whales larger than themselves.
Killing a dolphin in ancient Greece was considered sacrilegious and was punishable by death.
A dolphin’s blowhole is an evolved nose that has moved upward to the top of its head.