There are a number of dolphin species that live in fresh water. They all belong to the river dolphin families. These are: the Platanistidae (Ganges and Indus river dolphins), the Iniidae (the boto or Amazon river dolphin) and the Pontoporiidae (the baiji and the franciscana). There is one species that can be found both in fresh water (the Amazon river) and in coastal sea waters: the tucuxi (Sotalia fluviatilis). In general, salt water species don't do well in fresh water.

Most dolphins live in the ocean and the ocean water is too salty for them to drink. If they would drink sea water, they would actually use more water trying to get rid of the salt than they drank in the first place. Most of their water they get from their food (fish and squid). Also, when they metabolise (burn) their fat, water is released in the process. Their kidneys are also adapted to retaining as much water as possible.

In 1990, about 339,000 million gallons per day of fresh water was withdrawn from our surface and ground water sources, such as wells, rivers, lakes, and reservoirs. Here's the breakdown by water-use category:

I built a 43-gallon integral water tank into the hull under the V-berth and another 30-gallon tank under the cockpit footwell. The aft section of the Triton's deep bilge is another place to consider building an integral water tank. Flexible watertanks are another option. We also carry several 3 and 5-gallon water cans in the bilge and cockpit lockers, which does add up to a lot of weight.

This iceberg is just going to melt, and go into the ocean, anyway, so we should use it by covering it in insulating bubble wrap, towing it up the Mississippi river, and using it for irrigation water in the Midwest, which needs some water this year.

No. A recent study, comparing the survival of dolphins in captivity from 1940 through 1992 showed no significant difference in ASR between the "captive population" and the Sarasota Bay population. The ASR for the captive population was 0.944 (life expectancy: 17.4 years). Also in captivity dolphins have reached ages over 40 years. source: R.J.Small and D.P.DeMaster (1995) Survival of five species of captive marine mammals. Marine Mammal Science 11(2):209-226.

Dolphins in freedom get to live from 30 to 40 years, but when they are under human care, they live even more. It has been known a dolphin who reached 52 years of age.

Dolphins and whales out of water have two problems: heat and their own weight. Large animals have low surface to volume ratios, so it is hard for them to cool themselves. Also, whales are well insulated (blubber), which is good if they're in the water, but not if they're beached. It's like having a winter coat on in 70 degree weather, you'd overheat very quickly. A whale's body isn't designed to support its own weight, it relies on water for support.

Whales and dolphins hear very well underwater, though not in air. A human being's hearing ranges from 40 Hz to 20 kHz. Dolphins use very high sounds for echolocation, so they can hear sounds as high as 150 kHz. Low sounds travel very far underwater, so whales can hear up to 20 Hz. Their sight, however, is not very good, because it is not very important to them underwater. In deeper waters there is darkness, because light waves don?t travel very far into water.

There are four different causes of water scarcity: a dry climate, drought (a period in which rainfall is much lower and evaporation is higher than normal), drying of the soil due to activities such as deforestation and overgrazing by livestock and water stress due to increasing numbers of people that rely on limited levels of run-off.

Absolutely. We are careful to monitor the expiration dates of products and if anything does not have a lengthy freshness time once it gets to our customers, we will remove the item from the shelves of our warehouse and obtain fresh product.

In-water-interactive programs have a remarkable, well-established record of dolphin and human safety. The health and safety records of these innovative programs have been studied, analyzed, and restudied for almost 20 years, each time reaffirming their exemplary safety. Since these programs originated in the United States, most of these studies have involved U.S. government agencies.