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Bottlenose Dolphins are very interesting creatures.  They normally live for about 20 years but have lived up to 48!  Can you imagine that.  The age of a dolphin can be estimated by examining a sliced section of a tooth and counting the layers.  As many other animals, dolphins are exposed to parasites.  Dolphins suffer from viral, bacterial, and fungal infections.  They may also develop stomach ulcers, skin diseases, tumors, heart disease, urogenital disorders, and respiratory disorders.  Some of the parasites that affect the dolphin the most are tapeworms, flukes, and roundworms.  The Bottlenose does not have many predators.  These predators include Tiger Sharks, Dusty Sharks, and Bull Sharks.  Dolphins are occasionally found in the stomach of a killer whale.  Despite the chance, that does not normally happen.  With those extremely frightening predators, there is one I forgot to mention.  Your own kind!!!  Believe it or not, with all the amazing things these creatures do, humans kill them as game and even as sport.  Dolphins are very protective animals.  The mature males will put them selves in harms way to protect the young.  These animals can gang up to kill animals as big as a full-grown shark!!!  How do they do this you ask?  Well they take turns ramming into the gills of what  they are attacking.          

The dolphins live in an environment where other animals are always lurking.  There are fish in which they eat and a large variety of plants.  They normally live in warm and temperate waters like Hawaii and the Gulf of Mexico.  Even wild , they are very playful animals and do what instinct tells them. They will come right up to you and give you a free show full of amazing tricks.  On one occasion, 3 lifeguards were taking a swim out to sea.  What they didn’t know is that there was something lurking in the water.  It was none other then a Great White Shark!!!  A pod of 40 dolphins saw this and took immediate action.  They created a wall between the lifeguards and the shark until they were safe!  Now that’s what I call a loyal pet.  These animals have adapted to their environment even with the dangerous predators and humans infesting their waters.  They have learned to play with us and to watch out for danger.  They have adapted to our heat waves and other problems they have had too overcome. 

 

 

 

       

                                 This site was created by Matthew:                                Miss Anderson’s Class

6th grade 2007