Mammals | Incredible Aquatic Species

Taking a Look at Whales

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Kids of the 90s will remember the movie Free Willy, which was a film released about the ever popular killer whale. Moby-Dick, also referred to as The Whale, was a story published about a man’s journey involving whales. Whales have been a part of our history as long as people can remember. Whales are an important part of sea life.

As one of the largest aquatic mammals that exist, whales can get to be as large as one hundred and fifteen feet and one hundred and fifty tons. Whales are one of the few species that live nearly everywhere in the world. Before the 20th century, hunting whales for meat was still a very popular sport and resource. However, after the decline of many of the major species, whaling was outlawed in most countries. Today, whales flourish in the watery coasts and seas.

Whales are even showcased at major attractions like SeaWorld, where they are trained to do jumps and other tricks in front of a crowd of people. Because whales are able to socialize much like a human, it makes them a prime candidate for those who love getting up close and personal with wild life. Whales can learn very easily, and they have their own personalities and can make playful plots for those who they interact with. Like humans, whales also experience grief.

Whales also breathe much the same way that humans do. They can not breathe underwater. So how would a whale sleep if it doesn’t breathe underwater? Whales are thought to sleep in a rather peculiar way. Instead of being fully asleep, it is suggested that only half of the whale’s brain will sleep at a time, because if a whale was to fall asleep it could drown. Whales are one of the few mammals that do not fall completely asleep, making whales a fairly interesting mammal.

Fun Facts About the Aquatic Species the Dolphin

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Dolphins are a fascinating aquatic species that is admired by both children and adults. If you wish to see a dolphin in person you can do so at parks such as Sea World. The dolphin has captured the interest of many because it is a beautiful and intelligent creature.

One of the reasons that people find dolphins so interesting is because they are considered to be very smart. A dolphin is a fast learner that can differentiate between many objects. Some scientists have compared the intelligence of a dolphin to that of a two year old child. Like a toddler a dolphin can understand some complicated commands and also some of the human language. Because a dolphin can understand this much information they are able to communicate with their trainers.

A dolphin has a very healthy appetite. This creature can eat between ten to twenty kilograms of food per day. Dolphins feel on a number of different fish and squid. The amount of fish that a dolphin eats per day will depend on the fat content of the fish. An example of this is that a herring is a very fatty fish. A dolphin will acquire a lot of energy from eating this fish. This means it will not need to eat as much of it. In comparison a squid has a much lower fat content. Dolphins will need to eat more squid in order to get the energy that they need from it.

These creatures have a long life expectancy. A dolphin will usually live for ten to fourteen years. However it is not unheard of for a dolphin to live up to fifty years.

The dolphin will always be a part of marine life that fascinates the mind of many. It is an attractive creature with many endearing characteristics.

The Intelligence Levels of Dolphins

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Many people believe that dolphins are an aquatic species that possesses great intelligence in the animal world. However scientists have been debating whether this is the case for many years.

In general scientists will not make firm conclusions on the intelligence levels of dolphins. Many scientists will admit that the dolphin does appear to be an intelligent aquatic species. But it has not been proven how smart a dolphin actually is.

One of the reasons that the research on dolphin intelligence is being held up is due to the fact it is very expensive to do research on dolphins that are in the wild. Also it is difficult to track these dolphins. Dolphins that are in captivity may give different results to the researchers. Researchers believe that dolphins that are in aquatic parks such as Sea World may not react the same way as wild dolphins due to their surroundings. This means that a captive dolphin is not a true representation of a dolphin in the wild.

Some scientists believe that a better way to measure the intelligence of this aquatic species is to take into consideration the size and complexity of it’s brain. If this theory is correct it means that dolphins do have a high level of intelligence. A dolphin’s brain is almost half the size of a human brain.

While the current research leads us to believe that the dolphin may be the animal that is closest to humans in terms of intelligence it will take some time to prove this. Until there is a way to research dolphins in the wild the capabilities of their brain will remain a mystery to us. However due to the fact that dolphins are able to interact with humans and be trained it is fair to say there is no doubt that the dolphin is a intuitive animal.

An Unusual Aquatic Species – The Pink Dolphin

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The pink dolphin resides in the Amazon River. Unfortunately it has been classed as an endangered species. This is a shame as this type of dolphin is both beautiful and smart. In fact it is considered to smarter than the blue dolphin. This dolphin has a brain size that is forty percent bigger than that of humans.

Many people are not aware that a pink dolphin even exists. This could be due to the fact that this aquatic species inhabits areas in South America. People have not explored the Amazon River as closely as other rivers, lakes and oceans. Because of this much of the marine life in the Amazon has not been studied to a great extent. The pink dolphin is not an aquatic species that you will be seeing at Sea World anytime soon.

Pink dolphins that reside in the Amazon are also called Boto, Bufeo, Boto Cor de Rosa, Tonina, Boutu, Nay or Bufeo Colorado. The flamingo gets its coloring from the food that it eats. This is not the case with this aquatic species. This type of dolphin is pink due to the fact that it has blood vessels lying very close to the surface of it’s skin.

The pink dolphin is very different to the blue dolphins that reside in the ocean. This dolphin has the ability to blush when it gets excited or maddened. They can also come in different shades of pink. This aquatic species is thought to be smarter than blue ocean dolphins. The biggest difference between the pink dolphin and the blue dolphin is that the pink river dolphin lacks a dorsal fin. Instead it looks like it has a hump on their back.

While this aquatic species is endangered at present there are many conservation groups working towards solving this problem.

A Guide to the Aquatic Species of Killer Whales

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The orca is also known as a killer whale. As killer whales are so large in size the only threat to their future comes in the form of human beings. The killer whale is a predator that attacks many aquatic species. These creatures are dangerous and predatory. They are also considered to be majestic and beautiful by most people that view them.

Although many people call this aquatic species a whale it is actually a part of the dolphin family. Orcas are considered to be the biggest dolphins in existence. They have black skin that is broken up by white patches. Like dolphins the orca has a dorsal fin and big flippers.

One of the most interesting facts about this aquatic species is that they live in pods. These pods are small and generally contain six to forty killer whales. The whales in each pod stay with each other throughout their whole lives. They work together to perform tasks such as protecting the young, sick and injured members of their pod.

The members of the pod work alongside each other in order to hunt and catch their food.
The killer whale generally eats different types of fish, squid, whales, sharks, seals, turtles, sea gulls, octopus, and penguin. The average killer whale eats over five hundred pounds of food every day. Orcas will not migrate but they do travel a long way if they want to catch prey.

The killer whale can be found in both tropical and artic waters. Many people travel a long way to see this type of marine life up close and personal. Others can visit orcas in captivity at places like Sea World. Captive orcas put on a great show as they are intelligent and easy to train. They are a very popular attraction for tourists.

Could the Aquatic Species of Polar Bears Be Extinct in a Hundred Years?

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Conservation groups have predicted that the polar bear has the potential to be extinct in one hundred years. This is due to the fact that scientists are predicting that sea ice will melt considerable as a result of global warming.

Unfortunately some scientists believe that sea ice will melt much faster than anyone is predicting. If this does happen polar bears will have hard time surviving in those circumstances.

While polar bears are not entirely an aquatic species they do spend some of their time in the water. Because of this they are considered to be partly an aquatic species. The reason that sea ice is so important to polar bears is because they use the ice to hunt their food. Polar bears typically dine on seal, walrus and whales.

Researchers estimate that polar bears firstly started appearing in historical accounts forty to fifty thousand years ago. This type of bear has never lived through a period of time that is as warm as it is today.

The polar bear is designed to live in cold conditions such as in the Artic. Oddly enough this bear has black skin. This is so that it can absorb light. This keeps the bear warm. The fur of a polar bear is also there to warm its body during cold conditions. When the sea ice melts the bear will be living in an environment that is too warm. They will also have to find other ways to hunt for food in order to survive.

Breeding these animals in captivity may help keep them around for years to come. Many people visit parks such as Sea World in order to see this type of marine life in person. These parks could help start a conservation project. The every day citizen can also help by making small changes in their lives in order to reduce the effects of global warming.

The Aquatic Species – the Blue Whale

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The blue whale is a fascinating animal. This particular aquatic species is the biggest living animal on the planet. Due to it’s size the blue whale can make sounds that can travel over hundreds of miles. The have a long life span and eat thousands of pounds worth of food every day.

Humpback whales do not eat in winter. The aquatic species of the Blue Whale needs to eat all year round. This is simply because this particular type of marine life is so big.

In the past it has been difficult to study this creature. However this is no longer the case. Today scientists are able to decode the sounds that whales make. They do this by comparing the sound they make to their behavior.

The sounds that scientists are interested in is the sound of boats that are in shipping lanes. What they want to know is if the sounds made by ships are louder than the sounds made by whales. Researchers are hoping to discover if these sounds have any sort of affect on the Blue Whale. Once they have this data they will be able to tell if the appetite of this aquatic species put them in danger from shipping lanes.

Unfortunately due to the size of the Blue Whale it is a creature that is unlikely to be at places like Sea World. Most people will not be lucky enough to catch a glimpse of this creature in their lifetime.

At present the biggest possible danger that the whales face is the existence of shipping lanes. More and more ships are taking to the ocean as the demand for certain goods increases. These ships may be putting the lives of whales in danger. However we cannot draw any conclusions until more research is conducted by scientists.

A Look at the Endangered Aquatic Species the Manatee

This group of three West Indian manatees (Tric...

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The manatee is large water mammal that breathes air. Many people call the manatee a sea cow. This is because its appearance is similar to that of a hippopotamus.

The adult manatee has a large body. On average the body of a manatee is about ten feet long. This creature weighs an astounding four hundred to thirteen hundred pounds.

Manatees have the ability to live in salt water, fresh water and brackish water. This creature has a very slow metabolism. Because of this they do not need to eat as much as one would think an animal this large would. The manatee dines on seaweed and other plants in the water.

This aquatic species has few enemies. This is due to the fact that it is so large. At the moment the biggest threat to the safety of manatees are humans. Unfortunately the manatee is considered to be an endangered species. Because of this conservation groups will need to take action so that this sea creature does not become extinct.

This animal needs to be protected so that the ecosystem is not irreversibly damaged. If one species of animal becomes extinct it affects many different creatures. An example of this was when otters faced extinction in the nineteenth century. Because there was not many otters in the ocean the sea urchin population increased. This occurred because otters feed on sea urchins. As there were so many sea urchins in the ocean all the seaweed was being eaten. This left the ocean barren of kelp.

Humans depend on ecosystems for many purposes. An healthy ecosystem provides humans with food, clean air and water. Many products are developed with the help of the underwater ecosystem. This includes things like vitamins and krill oil. If the balance of nature is disturbed it could result in humans not being able to access products they need.