Oceanic dolphin

Ocean dolphins are a big family of sea animals. There are about forty different kinds of ocean dolphins. Some ocean dolphins are very big. They are so big that people call them whales instead of dolphins. The false killer whale and pilot whale are types of ocean dolphins. Ocean dolphins live with other ocean animals like porpoises and beluga whales.

Ocean dolphins come in many different sizes. The smallest dolphin is only about as long as a tall man. The biggest dolphin is the orca, which is as long as three school buses parked end to end. Male dolphins are usually bigger than female dolphins. Dolphins have smooth, strong bodies and two flippers instead of arms. Some dolphins can swim very fast, almost as quick as a car driving through town. Dolphins eat fish, squid, and small sea creatures. Most dolphins have between one hundred and two hundred teeth. Orcas are special because they also eat seals and birds.

Dolphins live together in large groups called pods. A pod can have as many dolphins as people in a big school. Each pod swims over a huge area to find food. Some pods stay together for a long time, while others change all the time. Dolphins talk to each other by making whistles and clicking sounds. These clicks help dolphins find things in the dark water, like a special kind of seeing with sound. Baby dolphins grow inside their mothers for ten to eighteen months. When babies are born, mothers take care of them all by themselves.

Ocean dolphins live in many parts of the world. Most dolphins like warm, tropical water. But some dolphins, like orcas, live in cold water too. Dolphins mostly eat fish and squid. Orcas hunt big animals like seals. Male dolphins have babies with many females every year. Female dolphins only have babies every two or three years. Babies are usually born in spring and summer.

Ocean dolphins face many dangers. Some people hunt dolphins in certain places. Dolphins also get hurt by fishing nets, lose their homes, and get sick from dirty water. Dolphins are famous in movies and stories all around the world. Sometimes people keep dolphins in special water parks and teach them to do tricks. The bottlenose dolphin is the kind you see most often in these places.