21st century skills library 4 A Beloved Animal chapter 1 Bottlenose dolphins have been much-loved creatures since ancient times They have been written about in myths and folktales for centuries In modern times these marine mammals have been the stars of movies and television shows They appear to do playful tricks as they leap out of the water They are naturally curious about humans and are very intelligent Their curving mouths seem to be grinning at everything they see These dolphins have even been credited with saving the lives of people who were in danger of drowning
exploring our oceans 5 Dolphins are mammals and come to the water’s surface for air
21st century skills library 6 If a dolphin is injured other dolphins will come to help it Dolphins live all over the world in the temperate and tropical waters of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans They typically do not live in cold waters Some groups live closer to the shore and make visits into bays and lagoons Others live farther out to sea and some can live as far out as the edge of the continental shelf They are social animals and typically live in groups of between 15 and 30 At times groups of bottlenose dolphins will join together in one group that numbers in the hundreds
exploring our oceans 7 look again Look at this photograph closely What can you learn about the bottlenose dolphin from this photo that you haven’t learned from the chapter Some scientists think dolphins jump while traveling because jumping requires less energy than swimming through the water
