Dolphin 海豚 (1)

What swims in the water, but isn’t a fish?

What whistles and chirps , but isn’t a bird?

What loves to jump, but isn’t a frog?

It’s a dolphin!

A dolphin is a mammal, just like you. Dolphins look like fish, but they are different in some very important ways.

Fish have scales. Fish have gills. Gills help fish get oxygen from the water. Their tails bend from side to side. A fish’s body temperature matches the temperature of the water it’s in.

Dolphins have lungs and breathe air. They get oxygen through a hole on top of their heads. When a dolphin swims slowly, it rises to the surface and breathes once or twice a minute. When a dolphin swims fast, it leaps out of the water to catch its breath. When a dolphin breathes out, air blasts out of its blowhole at 100 miles an hour. Their tails move up and down. A dolphin’s body temperature is always about 36 degrees  Celsius.

A dolphin’s body is just right for life underwater.

The fin on a dolphin’s back helps it stay balanced.

Flippers help a dolphin start, stop, and turn.

Its powerful tail pushes it through the water.