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Here's a conversation worth talking about: A mother dolphin chats with her baby...over the telephone! The special call was made in an aquarium in Hawaii, where the mother and her two-year-old calf swam in separate tanks connected by a special underwater audio link. The two dolphins began squawking and chirping to each other-distinctive dolphin chatter.

Cracking the Code

"It seemed clear that they knew who they were talking with," says Don White, whose Project Delphis ran the experiment. "Information was passing back and forth pretty quickly." But what were they saying? That's what scientists are trying to find out by studying wild and captive dolphins all over the world to decipher their secret language. They haven't completely cracked the code yet, but they're listening ... and learning.

Chatty Mammals

In many ways, you are just like the more than 30 species of dolphins that swim in the world's oceans and rivers. Dolphins are mammals, like you are, and must swim to the surface to breathe air. Just as you might, they team up in pods, or groups, to accomplish tasks. And they're smart.

They also talk to each other. Starting from birth, dolphins squawk, whistle, click, and squeak. "Sometimes one dolphin will vocalize and then another will seem to answer," says Sara Waller, who studies bottlenose dolphins off the California coast. "And sometimes members of a pod vocalize in different patterns at the same time, much like many people chattering at a party." And just as you gesture and change facial expressions as you talk, dolphins communicate nonverbally through body postures, jaw claps, bubble blowing, and fin caresses.

Thinking Dolphin

Scientists think dolphins "talk" about everything from basic facts like their age to their emotional state. "I speculate that they say things like 'there are some good fish over here,' or 'watch out for that shark because he's hunting,'" says Denise Herzing, who studies dolphins in the Bahamas.

When the going gets tough, for instance, some dolphins call for backup. After being bullied by a duo of bottlenose dolphins, one spotted dolphin returned to the scene the next day with a few pals to chase and harass one of the bully bottlenose dolphins. "It's as if the spotted dolphin communicated to his buddies that he needed their help, then led them in search of this guy," says Herzing, who watched the scuffle.

Language Lessons

Kathleen Dudzinski, director of the Dolphin Communication Project, has listened to dolphins for more than 17 years, using high-tech gear to record and analyze every nuance of their language. But she says she's far from speaking "dolphin" yet. Part of the reason is the elusiveness of the animals. Dolphins are fast swimmers who can stay underwater for up to ten minutes between breaths. "It's like studying an iceberg because they spend most of their lives underwater," Dudzinski says.

Deciphering "dolphin speak" is also tricky because their language is so dependent on what they're doing, whether they're playing, fighting, or going after tasty fish. It's no different for humans. Think about when you raise a hand to say hello. Under other circumstances, the same gesture can mean good-bye, stop, or that something costs five bucks. It's the same for dolphins. During fights, for example, dolphins clap their jaws to say "back off!" But they jaw clap while playing, too, as if to show who's king of the underwater playground.

"I have not found one particular dolphin behavior that means the same thing every time you see it," says Dudzinski. "If you like mysteries and detective work, then this is the job for you." And who knows-maybe someday you'll get a phone call from a dolphin.
Text by Crispin Boyer

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Find out how dolphins "speak" to each other.

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Take the plunge to discover how cool dolphins and their ocean home are. Build up speed as you swim, then go up above the water's surface. See how many special moves you can pull off before the dolphin dives back into the water!

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Take the plunge to discover how cool dolphins and their ocean home are. Build up speed as you swim, then go up above the water's surface. See how many special moves you can pull off before the dolphin dives back into the water!

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Thought to be some of the smartest animals on Earth, bottlenose dolphins send messages to one another in many different ways. They squeak, squawk and use body language—leaping as high as 20 feet in the air, snapping their jaws, slapping their tails on the surface of the water, blowing bubbles and ev…

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Dolphins for Kids | All About Dolphins | Bottlenose Dolphins

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Explore our wide variety of animal facts and learn some fun trivia about our friends in the animal kingdom.

Fun Dolphin Facts for Kids

Check out these fun dolphin facts for kids. Learn about different types of dolphins, how they communicate with each other and much more.

Read on and enjoy these interesting facts about dolphins.

Compared to other animals, dolphins are believed to be very intelligent.

Dolphins are carnivores (meat eaters).

The Killer Whale (also known as Orca) is actually a type of dolphin.

Bottlenose dolphins are the most common and well known type of dolphin.

Female dolphins are called cows, males are called bulls and young dolphins are called calves.

Dolphins live in schools or pods of up to 12 individuals.

Dolphins often display a playful attitude which makes them popular in human culture. They can be seen jumping out of the water, riding waves, play fighting and occasionally interacting with humans swimming in the water.

Dolphins use a blowhole on top of their heads to breathe.

Dolphins have excellent eyesight and hearing as well as the ability to use echolocation for finding the exact location of objects.

Dolphins communicate with each other by clicking, whistling and other sounds.

Some dolphin species face the threat of extinction, often directly as a result of human behavior. The Yangtze River Dolphin is an example of a dolphin species which may have recently become extinct.

Some fishing methods, such as the use of nets, kill a large number of dolphins every year.

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Fun Dolphin Facts for Kids - Interesting Facts about Dolphins

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Explore our wide variety of animal facts and learn some fun trivia about our friends in the animal kingdom. Fun Dolphin Facts for Kids Check out these fun dolphin facts for kids. Learn about different types of dolphins, how they communicate with each other and much more.

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Dolphins look like big fishes, but they are actually mammals. They belong to a large group of animals called whales. Dolphins are closely related to porpoises. Because dolphins and porpoises look so much alike, people often confuse the two. However, dolphins are usually larger and have longer, beaklike snouts.

There are more than 35 species, or types, of dolphin. They are divided into two groups: true dolphins and river dolphins. True dolphins live throughout the world in either salt water or freshwater. The most widespread species are the common dolphin and the bottlenose dolphin. River dolphins live only in South America and Asia. They prefer freshwater.

Most dolphins are 7-10 feet (2-3 meters) long, but some species can reach a length of 13 feet (4 meters). Dolphins have smooth, rubbery skin. They are usually colored in some mixture of black, white, and gray. They have two flippers, or fins, on their sides, as well as a triangular fin on the back. A dolphin must come up to the water's surface to get air. It breathes through a single nostril, called a blowhole, on the top of its head.

Dolphins are known for being intelligent and playful. They live together in groups, called schools. They use sounds to communicate.

About 10 to 12 months after mating, a female dolphin gives birth to a single baby, or calf. The mother nudges the newborn calf up to the surface so that it can take its first breath. Some types of dolphin may live for 30 years.

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Dolphins look like big fishes, but they are actually mammals. They belong to a large group of animals called whales. Dolphins are closely related to porpoises. Because...

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Bottlenose Dolphin Facts for Kids | Dolphin Photos

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Bottlenose dolphins are great swimmers. They start swimming in their mother’s womb before they’re even born! Learn more dolphin facts at Animal Fact Guide!

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How Are Dolphins and Porpoises Different?

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How Are Dolphins and Porpoises Different?

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How Are Dolphins and Porpoises Different?

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People have long been fascinated with those playful and intelligent sea creatures we call "dolphins" and "porpoises." Although some people think dolphins and porpoises are basically the same, you might be surprised to learn they are quite different creatures. If you haven't seen them nose to nose, then it can be difficult to tell the difference between dolphins and porpoises.

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Is there anything more than a dolphin? They're one of the smartest animals on Earth, with beauty and grace to match their . It's a great thrill to watch dolphins leap from the ocean into the air. They're easy to spot, with long beaks, round heads, and bright pink skin!

Wait. Pink skin? Aren't most dolphins grey? And long beaks? If you've seen many saltwater dolphins, that may not sound quite right. But we're talking about a specific freshwater dolphin. The Amazon river dolphin, to be exact!

The Amazon river dolphin is also called the boto. It lives in the of the Amazon and Orinoco Rivers of South America. When the rivers flood, they fill thousands of miles of the rainforest. This expands the boto's . During rain seasons, botos can be seen swimming through and around flooded tree roots and other plants of the rainforest.

It's the boto's looks that really set it apart from other dolphins. Special make it able to steer through trees by bending at 90-degree angles. Its beak is longer, and its forehead much rounder, than those of most dolphins you've likely seen. They're also a bit smaller, at around eight feet and 450 pounds. And yes-many Amazon river dolphins have bright pink skin!

What makes their skin pink? That's the real mystery. Experts still disagree over what causes botos to turn pink. However, they do know that all Amazon river dolphins are born grey. Some of them-usually males-turn pink later in life. And often, they grow pinker as they age.

This leads some experts to believe the pink skin is scar tissue . Male botos are known to fight a lot. They may turn pink as their bodies accumulate battle scars. This would also explain why botos become pinker with age. After all, older dolphins have likely been in more fights and gained more scars.

Other scientists believe the boto's pink skin is pink to help it hide from . After all, the mud of the flooded rainforest floor often takes on a reddish color. It would make sense for botos to develop pink skin in an attempt to blend in.

And blending in is definitely something many botos are interested in doing. Many of them tend to be very shy. That makes it difficult for experts to know just how many of them there are. When botos do show an interest in humans, though, they're very friendly. They're sometimes known to play with children in shallow water.

If you believe local legends, botos go to great lengths to be friendly with people. A South American story claims that Amazon river dolphins have the ability to turn into human beings. People say they can be seen walking near water at night, wearing hats to cover their blowholes.

Unfortunately, not all people are quite so friendly to botos. They often run into trouble with fishermen. Some fishermen use boto as bait for fish. Others kill them because they see botos as competition for fish. Many botos are also accidentally killed each year when they're caught in fishing net meant for smaller fish.

Would you like to see a boto one day? How about one as a human being? That old story may not be true, but there's still something magical about these bright pink dolphins!

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Is there anything more than a dolphin? They're one of the smartest animals on Earth, with beauty and grace to match their . It's a great thrill to watch dolphins leap from the ocean into the air. They're easy to spot, with long beaks, round heads, and bright pink skin!

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Have you ever been to an ? How about an ocean-themed amusement park? If so, you may have seen dolphins that could do tricks. They might have jumped through hoops. Some dolphins even roll over or swim with trainers on their backs.

Have you ever WONDERed how the trainers train these dolphins? After all, it's not like humans can speak dolphin, right? Plus, we live on land and dolphins live in the water. We're very different creatures. So how do they do it?

Professional marine trainers can teach dolphins many behaviors. They do this through a system called reinforcement through conditioning . They start by breaking down the into many steps. They then teach the animal one step at a time. When the animal does a step right, the trainer rewards them. This teaches the animal to keep up that .

For example, many dolphins are taught to jump through a . Trainers break down the into simpler steps. Then they teach each step by having the dolphin follow an object called a target. The target can be any object, like a float on the end of a pole. By following the target, the dolphin learns the desired .

For example, the dolphin may first be rewarded for swimming through a . Then, the and target are raised to the top of the water. Once the new goal is achieved, the dolphin is only rewarded for that task.

Another tool trainers use is the hand signal. Trainers have a unique hand signal for each they want the dolphin to perform. When the hand signal is given, the dolphin knows what the trainer wants it to do.

Trainers also use whistles. A whistle tells the dolphin that it performed the desired correctly. Performing the correctly also earns the dolphin a reward. The reward can be food, a toy or special attention from the trainer.

Rewarding an animal for a desired is known as reinforcement . The reward reinforces the desired. This makes the dolphin want to perform the correctly every time.

How about when a dolphin performs the incorrectly? When that happens, the trainer gives no response. Instead, they give the dolphin time to think about what went wrong. Animals are not punished for incorrect . Instead, they just don't get reinforcement . In this way, reinforcement becomes an even more powerful tool.

Have you ever trained a dog or other pet? If so, this process might sound familiar. Most animals respond well to reinforcement . Do you enjoy teaching animals new tricks? Maybe you have a future as a professional trainer!

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Have you ever been to an ? How about an ocean-themed amusement park? If so, you may have seen dolphins that could do tricks. They might have jumped through hoops. Some dolphins even roll over or swim with trainers on their backs. Have you ever WONDERed how the trainers train these dolphins?

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Dolphins make many different sounds to navigate, communicate, and hunt. Check out these sounds, plus more on SeaWorld.org.
Bottlenose Dolphin
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Dolphin
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Killer Whale
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More Animal Sounds

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Dolphins make many different sounds to navigate, communicate, and hunt. Check out these sounds, plus more on SeaWorld.org. Bottlenose Dolphin Your browser does not support the audio element. Dolphin Your browser does not support the audio element. Your browser does not support the audio element. Killer Whale Your browser does not support the audio element.

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Amazing Animals-Nat Geo Kids: Bottlenose Dolphins

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Amazing Animals-Nat Geo Kids: Bottlenose Dolphins

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Swimming with Dolphins! | Wild Kratts "Speaking Dolphinese"