QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Question:

Why do dolphins and whales breach?

Answer:

Breaching is the word used to describe cetaceans' dramatic behavior. Breaching includes both full and partial leaps from the water. No one knows for certain why cetaceans breach, but some possibilities include: courtship display, communication with others, breaking off irritating parasites, a technique for heading fish, a demonstration of strength, or purely for fun.

Question:

Why do marine mammals "strand"?

Answer:

Each year, thousands of dolphins, porpoises, and whales "strand" or beach themselves along coastlines throughout the world. Those that are dead get washed ashore. Those that are alive are more of a mystery. Some are ill, but some are actually young and healthy. One of the more interesting possibilities put forth by scientists is that changes in the earth's magnetic field can through off the animals' navigational senses. Mass strandings may involve a group of cetaceans responding to some threat or a group following one individuals who is ill and off-course, or who needs rest.

Question:

What's the difference between a dolphin and a porpoise?

Answer:

Dolphins and porpoises have a lot in common, and the names often get used interchangeably, There are only 6 species of porpoises, however. The dolphin family includes 26 species of dolphins and 6 toothed whales. Some of the characteristics that distinguish dolphins from porpoise are tooth structure, beaks, dorsal fins, and front flippers. Porpoises typically have spade-shaped teeth while dolphins have cone-shaped teeth. Porpoises have no beak and rather small heads, which contrasts with many dolphins; pronounced beaks, Finally, porpoises have especially well-defined dorsal fins and particularly small front flippers for their body size.

Question:

What is the probably the largest animal ever on earth, including dinosaurs?

Answer:

Blue Whale. Blue whales can be 110 ft. long and 190 tons. In one of nature's amazing contrasts, this huge animal is a baleen whale which eats tiny krill. Due to heavy commercial whaling (which continues on a pirate level), the blue whale population is low, somewhere between 3,000-5,000 worldwide, a huge drop estimated 300,000-500,000.

Question:

> What is whale watching?

Answer:

Whale watching, or dolphin watching, is the growing practice of observing wild whales and dolphins either from onshore locations or often, from boats, This is a wonderful opportunity to see these beautiful animals in real life, displaying a variety of behaviors, sometimes including the breaching behavior mentioned above.

Question:

What is melon to a dolphin or whale?

Answer:

The "melon" is a bulging structure located in the forehead of dolphins and toothed whales. It is an oil-filled structure that is used by cetaceans in transmitting and receiving echolocation signals.

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