Why do dolphins bounce out of the water?
Charlize, age 8, Melbourne
Have you ever ever seen photos of dolphins leaping out of the waves and performing spectacular acrobatics within the air? Or possibly you’ve seen it in actual life?
When a dolphin jumps, it may launch its entire physique out of the water. Whereas it appears to be like like enjoyable, it should even be arduous work!
So, why do dolphins bounce out of the water? There are a number of doable causes. Let’s bounce in and discover them.
A dolphin can launch its entire physique out of the water.
Paulphin Images/Shutterstock
To remain in contact
Dolphins are social animals and reside in teams. However it’s arduous to see lengthy distances underwater. So, they use the ability of sound to remain involved with one another.
Sound travels a lot farther underwater than via the air. When dolphins bounce, the slap of the touchdown makes a loud noise, and could be heard a long way away.
Some species, similar to spinner dolphins, use leaping to speak their location to different group members, particularly at night time. This helps them preserve monitor of one another.
As an apart, spinner dolphins are very expert jumpers. Because the identify suggests, they spin as much as seven occasions within the air earlier than touchdown again within the water!
Spinner dolphins are the acrobats of the ocean.
The necessity for velocity
Have you ever ever tried to stroll underwater? You’ll have felt how arduous it’s. That’s as a result of water is extra dense than air, which creates a “drag”, or resistance.
Dolphins have streamlined our bodies to scale back drag, however they nonetheless really feel it. So, in the event that they need to journey rapidly – for instance, if they’re attempting to flee a predator or hunt fish – they often bounce.
Whereas within the air, they journey sooner than they might via water, and in addition save power.
Dolphins have streamlined our bodies however nonetheless really feel drag underwater.
F Images R/Shutterstock
To assemble meals
Some dolphins weigh lower than 50 kilograms, such because the Hector’s dolphin. Others weigh a number of tonnes, similar to an orca.
Both means, when a dolphin crashes again into the water, you could be certain it makes fairly a loud splash.
Some dolphin species, similar to dusky dolphins, use this noise to herd fish on the floor to make them simpler to seize.
Shaking off hitchhikers
Fish referred to as remoras can connect themselves to dolphins utilizing a sucker on their head. That is good for the fish, as a result of it may preserve them protected and so they have a lot to eat, similar to small parasites and previous bits of dolphin pores and skin.
Whereas the remoras don’t harm the dolphin, they most likely gradual it down. So dolphins could attempt to eliminate the little hitchhikers by leaping to dislodge them.
A dolphin calf leaping to take away remoras.
Preventing and frolicking
Dolphins are very smart animals. They’ve huge brains and might be taught methods and clear up puzzles. With intelligence additionally come different traits: playfulness and social behaviour.
Typically, that social behaviour can finish in a “fight”. Dolphin specialists say two dolphins leaping round collectively is perhaps really attempting to hit one another!
Dolphins additionally like to frolic – not simply with one another however with different marine mammals similar to whales and sea lions, with turtles – and even only a piece of seaweed! So they may bounce as some type of “game”.
As you may see, dolphins could bounce for a spread of causes – typically simply because it’s actually enjoyable!
