Dolphins
There are 32 species of dolphin and they are to be found all over the world. Many live in the oceans but some live in rivers.
Dolphins are incredibly clever creatures, humans have 5 senses, sight, sound, smell, touch and taste, Dolphins have these too, but also have a sixth, sending out clicks they can see through objects and catch hiding fish in the same way we use ultrasound to see unborn babies in their mothers womb.
They are very creative working together figuring out different ways of catching fish moving at speeds of 30-40 kilometers per hour rounding up schools of fish, communicating and working as a team helping one another get their share of the bounty.
In captivity bottle nose dolphins have been taught to read sign language from humans to achieve different tasks and communicate back to their handlers. They can recognise 60 or more signs.
Much of their time is spent in their communities playing, nurturing their young and being intimate with each other. In fact much or their lives are spent playing right through adulthood, which is as long as fifty years. Scientists believe that such is a dolphin intelligence that they even have names for each other communicating with different clicks as we do using words.
Using tools
A recent study has shown bottle nosed dolphins in Shark Bay Western Australia use sponges as tools to cover and protect their snout while foraging on the seafloor. Picking the conical shaped ones so they will not fall off their snouts.
It is believed that this is taught by mothers to their daughters and not an instinct.
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