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.

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.

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.

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.

They can maintain their breath an average of 12 minutes. The normal is about 3 breathings per minute.

Whales and dolphins can be found in almost every sea and ocean, from the Arctic ocean, through the tropics all the way to the Antarctic. Each species however has its own preferred type of habitat. Some live cold water only, others in tropical oceans only. There are also species that can be found in a large variety of environments, like the bottlenose dolphins, killer whales and sperm whales. source: P.G.H.Evans (1987) The Natural History of Whales and Dolphins.

There are probably many reasons why cetaceans strand, including illness, injury, being lost, or following a sick individual ashore. Perhaps the dolphin has come ashore because it is too weak to go on and can’t defend itself against predators. This is the reason why it is NOT recommended to push these animals back out to sea. Sometimes they strand singly and sometimes en masse.

There are many reasons for attempting to save stranded dolphins -- scientific, and personal. Medically, what is learned from the rehabilitation effort of a dolphin patient is important for that individual, but also, by increasing the body of medical knowledge, future stranded dolphins will have a greater chance at survival.

Dolphins have to be conscious to breath (Williams et al, 1990). This means that they cannot go into a full deep sleep, because then they would suffocate. Dolphins have "solved" that by letting one half of their brain sleep at a time. This has been determined by doing EEG studies on dolphins. Dolphins sleep about 8 hours a day in this fashion. REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep, usually associated with dreaming has been recorded only very rarely.

Maybe, but probably not. Most life in the sea is lower on the food chain, and that is where this marine biology program will focus. Marine mammals of course will be included in your studies, but they will comprise a relatively small segment. At UH, most of the researchers working with dolphins are investigating various aspects of dolphin behavior. Thus these scientists, with some exceptions are affiliated with the Department of Psychology.

This program is focused on learning about and studying dolphins in their natural habitat. After learning about dolphins from marine mammal researchers, we will head out in small boats to identify and track the dolphin's movement. While the majority of the trip focuses on wild dolphin studies, you will have the opportunity to participate in a dolphin encounter on the final day of program. [Back to Top]