Dolphin Facts for Kids To Learn & Study
These fun dolphin facts for kids are a great way to teach kids more about dolphins and how they survive in the ocean.
Last summer I found a really good used book about dolphins. That lead us into wanting to know more. Dolphins are interesting characters and we loved learning more about how they live, eat, and survive in the big ocean.
The kids had a blast researching and finding out these interesting and educational dolphin facts for kids we are sharing today.
These are some of the interesting facts about dolphins that we learned through our research and from library books. It was amazing to see how much the kids learned and how surprised they were at some of these dolphin facts for kids.
Fun Facts About Dolphins
Fun Facts About Dolphins
Just a few of the facts we learned! Below you’ll find some more facts about dolphins and a little more detail about what we learned.
- Dolphins Can Swim More Than 20 Miles Per Hour.
- A Group of Dolphins Is Called A Pod
- The Orca Is Actually The Largest Dolphin
- Dolphins Can Live Up To 80 Years
- Dolphins Can Hold Their Breath For Up To 10 Minutes
- Dolphins Are Born with Hair
- Dolphins Are Mammals Not Fish
1. Dolphins Can Swim More Than 20 Miles Per Hour
Shocking right! Those cute little dolphins are also super fast swimmers and have been known to go as fast as 20-25 miles per hour. Sometimes over 30 miles per hour in bursts.
Why? The dolphin’s tail, which is also known as a fluke, acts as wings. Since the flukes are flexible, dolphins can control the stiffness and how fast the tail goes up and down. The quicker it goes, the more speed it creates pushing them through the water.
2. A Group of Dolphins Is Called A Pod
You know how when you have a group of fish it’s called a “school of fish”. Well, with dolphins, a group is known as a “pod”.
3. Dolphins Can Hold Their Breath For Up To 10 Minutes
Dolphins have a blowhole on the top of their head which acts as a flapper. This means when they go underwater, the flapper closes and no water gets into their lungs.
4. They Love To Be Social
Most dolphins love interaction and attention. They also have a good sense of family and keep their babies close to them longer than most animals. That’s why you often see them in a group.
It’s also important to note that because they have such a good sense of family, they know and feel when one is injured and try to help. This was actually one of our favorite dolphin facts for kids!
5. The Orca Is Actually The Largest Dolphin
Before we started studying dolphins and researching different dolphin facts for kids, we didn’t know the Orca was actually a dolphin. We were thinking of it as a whale. According to Whales.org, the Orca is the largest dolphin with the Hector’s dolphin and Franciscana dolphins being the two smallest.
6. They Communicate In Different Ways
Dolphins communicate in more ways than one. When they communicate, it is by clicks, whistles and squeals. You can often hear them chattering back and forth with other dolphins.
They also communicate through nonverbal gestures like slapping their flippers in the water, leaping out of the water, or bumping each other.
7. Dolphins Can Live Up To 80 Years
Did you know that smaller dolphins can live up to 20 years while the larger dolphins (like the Orcas) can live up to 80 years? To the kids, that was insane!
8. Bottlenose Dolphins Have Between 72-104 Teeth
That’s a lot of teeth! It’s also good to know that they only have one set of teeth that last for a lifetime. The teeth last so long because they don’t use their teeth to chew food, just to catch it. Once they’ve caught their food (they eat fish, squid and crustaceans) they swallow it whole.
9. Dolphins Are Mammals Not Fish
Even though dolphins live in the ocean, they are still considered mammals and not fish. Why? Because they are warm blooded and fish are cold blooded. Unlike fish, they have to go to the surface to get air because they don’t breath through gills.
10. Dolphins Are Born with Hair
Well, not much hair. They are born with hair on the top of their rostrum (the jaw) but after a short time it falls out and doesn’t grow back.
Fun Facts About Dolphins: Dolphin Facts for Kids
It was so fun researching these dolphin facts for kids and the kids had such a good time learning more about them.
After finding out some of these fun dolphin facts for kids, they drew a picture of a dolphin and colored it. It was a fun activity to do after a bit of learning.
