INTRODUCTION
PAGE 1
ANIMAL GROUPS
PAGE 2-3
WHAT DOES A DOLPHIN EAT
PAGE 4-5
DOLPHINS HABITAT
PAGE 6-7
INTRODUCTION
Dolphins are amazing animals that leap and jump out of the
water. Dolphins are gentle and peaceful. In this book you will
find out more about dolphins and about their habitat, what
dolphins eat, and how they live.
Animal groups
There are 5 types of animal groups. They are mammals, fish,
reptiles, birds and amphibians. All of these animals have a back
bone, so are called a vertebrate.
Mammals are warm blooded. Mammals give birth to live babies
and feed their babies milk. Mammals also breathe air and have
hair or fur.
Amphibians are different to mammals because amphibians lay
eggs in the water and mammals don’t. As babies amphibians
live in water like a fish, as adults they live on land, and breathe
air like mammals.
Reptiles have dry scaly skin that is water proof skin. Reptiles
are cold blooded and lay leathery eggs. Reptiles get energy from
the sun. They cool down in the water.
Birds have feathers that cover most of their bodies to protect
them from heat and cold water. Birds have beaks and wings.
Their beak helps them to catch their food. Birds lay hard eggs.
Fish breathe oxygen from the water using gills. They lay soft
eggs under water. Fish are usually cold blooded.
Dolphins breathe air. Dolphins are mammals like us. They have
lungs and a blow hole- a kind of nostril – on top of their head.
They come up to the top of the water to blow out used air, and
breathe some fresh air before diving under water again.
Dolphins have a layer of fat under their skin, called blubber to
keep them warm. They are warm-blooded animals. This means
that their body temperature stays the same. Dolphins have a
body temperature almost 37c just like us. The Dusky Dolphin
lives around Kaikoura and lives in groups and sometimes swims
alone.
Many dolphins hunt their food in groups. These groups are
different in size and can consist of hundreds, or even thousands
of dolphins! Hunting in groups gives protection against killer
whales and sharks. Dusky dolphins chase fish, herd them
together and trap them between themselves and the surface of
the water. Bottlenose dolphins dive fish into shallow water to
trap them. Some dolphins also feed on squid, shrimps, octopus
and cuttlefish.
What threatens Dolphins?
There are many stories about people’s friendship with
dolphins. At one time, it was thought to be bad luck to kill
dolphins because they were humans in another form.
People are the main threats to the dolphins. These are some
examples; throwing rubbish in the sea, people killing and
eating them, and dolphins get caught in nets. They also get
frightened by boat. Some other threats are killer whales and
sharks.