Hectors Dolphin, The Super-Mammal
Imagine a mammal that lives in the sea, yet it is very much like humans.
Dolphins belong to a group of animals called mammals, which includes many species such as monkeys, whales, tigers, bats and people. They are warm blooded and they are very clever too!
The ancestry of dolphins can be traced back to Pakicetus, a 50 million year old fossil.
Most Hectors Dolphins live around the South Island, but there are a few in the North Island. Many kinds of dolphins migrate but Hectors Dolphins mainly stay in NZ waters. When a dolphin is going a long distance it will make long horizontal jumps to save energy. Hectors Dolphins can swim at speeds of up to 35kms per hour.
Dolphins communicate using clicks and whistles and splashing and leaping into the air.
Hectors Dolphins are threatened in the wild because of fishing nets and overfishing which means there is not much food for them. Dolphins eat small fish most of the time, but occasionally they will accidently swallow plastic bags, which suffocate them.
There are only 8000 Hectors Dolphins in the world. They don’t have many natural predators.
Imagine a mammal that lives in the sea, yet it is very much like humans.
Dolphins belong to a group of animals called mammals, which includes many species such as monkeys, whales, tigers, bats and people. They are warm blooded and they are very clever too!
The ancestry of dolphins can be traced back to Pakicetus, a 50 million year old fossil.
Most Hectors Dolphins live around the South Island, but there are a few in the North Island. Many kinds of dolphins migrate but Hectors Dolphins mainly stay in NZ waters. When a dolphin is going a long distance it will make long horizontal jumps to save energy. Hectors Dolphins can swim at speeds of up to 35kms per hour.
Dolphins communicate using clicks and whistles and splashing and leaping into the air.
Hectors Dolphins are threatened in the wild because of fishing nets and overfishing which means there is not much food for them. Dolphins eat small fish most of the time, but occasionally they will accidently swallow plastic bags, which suffocate them.
There are only 8000 Hectors Dolphins in the world. They don’t have many natural predators.