Dolphin Swimming

Dolphin Fun Facts

// October 12th, 2009 // View Comments // About Dolphins, Dolphins for kids

Did you know…..

Dolphins may live in water, but they don’t drink it?  They get all the water they need from the fish they eat.

Dolphins have teeth but don’t chew their dinner?  They use their teeth to catch their fish then swallow them whole!

You can tell a dolphin’s age by counting rings in their teeth like the rings of a trunk of a tree?

Killer whales are not whales at all, they are actually part of the dolphin family?  They can be up to 30 ft in length and weigh 20 000 lbs!

Dolphins only sleep with half their brain at a time and with one eye open?  They need to be at least half awake in order to breathe.

Dolphins communicate using clicks, grunts and whistles?  Every dolphin has it’s own “signature whistle”.

Baby dolphins are called “calves”, just like baby cows?  Calves stay close to their mothers for 3-6 years.

If you have any dolphin questions, let us know, we’ll be happy to help you out!  Leave a comment below and we will answer.  Hope you can join us to swim with the dolphins very soon.

Swimming with Dolphins- A Kid’s Eye View

// September 29th, 2009 // View Comments // About Dolphins, Cancun / Isla Mujeres, Dolphins for kids

Hi everybody, my name is Sam and I am 5 years old, I am in kindergarten and I love swimming and boats and all the things in the ocean.  The other day my mommy and daddy and me had a really great day, they took me to swim with dolphins!  It was really cool, first we got to ride on a big boat, I looked for pirates but didn’t see any, maybe next time.  When we got off the boat, I saw a whole bunch of dolphins, jumping in the air and waving to me and saying hi, I wanted to jump in the water with them but mommy and daddy told me I had to wait.

Dolphins Saying Hello

I was so excited, I didn’t want to wait, but the nice man with the toy dolphin told me that I had to learn how to train the dolphins.  He told me never, ever, ever touch the eyes or the hole on their back that they breathe through.  You have to be very gentle with dolphins!  We practiced putting our hands out so the dolphins would come and give us a kiss and dance with us.  Then we put on our life jackets that help us float and we went to where the dolphins live.

Be Gentle with Dolphins

We were so lucky, we got to be friends with two mommy dolphins and their little babies!  The mommies were named Shelley and Daniella and the babies were Noe and Dani.  They were so cute, I told my mommy that I wanted to take a dolphin home, but she said that two cats and a dog were enough and that a dolphin wouldn’t like to sleep in my bed.  We got into the water and the dolphins were right there with us!!  They swam right in front of me and I got to touch them, they feel like the floatie toys I use at the beach but nicer.  Their backs are grey but their tummies are kind of pink and they always look like they are smiling.




I was a little scared when it was my turn to kiss the dolphin, but it was so fun and easy and the dolphin kissed me on my cheek and I kissed her on the lips!  I put my hands out in front of me and the dolphin put their flippers in my hands and we danced, it was so cool!  We got to splash the dolphins with water and they splashed me too, they swam really really fast and they jumped high in the sky!  I was sad when it was time to go, I had so much fun with my dolphin friends.  I want to go back again really soon, mommy said if I am a good boy we can go for my birthday.  I think I will bring them a cake made of fish.

My Dolphin Friend

–(Sam is a real kid who really did swim with the dolphins, he’s my kid in fact!  I’m the mean mommy who wouldn’t let him bring the dolphin home.  We went to the Isla Mujeres location and did the program called “Dolphin Encounter“.  This is a great program for young children, a lot of interaction with the animals and time to play in the water with them.  Outside of the actual swim with dolphins program, there is a play area for children and a pool with a shallow area for kids.  Contact Dolphin Discovery to book a tour that is great for the whole family.)

My name is iiiuuiiiioo

// June 23rd, 2009 // View Comments // Dolphins for kids

Bottlenose dolphins identify themselves with a specific whistle. Each dolphin chooses its own whistle, usually by starting the day of its birthday. This name stays the same for at least ten more years.

big big family

// June 15th, 2009 // View Comments // Dolphins for kids

Dolphins are very social animals and they like to travel in large groups called pods. Bottlenose dolphins can travel in pods with other two hundred marine friends. These super pods stroll around several miles of open sea. Dolphins often hunt together, allowing them to cover larger areas.

Tooth fairy’s paradise

// May 27th, 2009 // View Comments // Dolphins for kids

Some dolphins have even more teeth than crocodiles. Bottlenose dolphins have between 88 to 100 teeth, and they only get one set of them for the rest of their lives. They don’t use their teeth to chew their food, they use them to catch their food and then they swallow it.

are sharks afraid of dolphins?

// April 23rd, 2009 // View Comments // Dolphins for kids

Not really, unless the shark is relatively smaller.
This is a common believe, based on the record of a bottlenose dolphin killing a leopard shark, that was publicized by Flipper TV show.

The truth is that dolphins will avoid natural predators whenever is possible. In the wild, dolphins and sharks pretty much leave each other alone, but 70% of wild dolphins show some degree of shark scarring.
In many cases, dolphins are able to elude attack by detecting through echolocation.

Drinks for dolphins

// April 2nd, 2009 // View Comments // Dolphins for kids

Dolphins don’t drink ocean water because is too salty for them. If they decided to drink salt water, they would actually use more water trying to get rid of the salt than the water they drank first. Instead, dolphins get all the water they need from the fish they eat. Their kidneys are also adapted to retain as much water as possible. Although they live in water, they live as desert animals with no direct source of drinkable water.

dolphins getting a ride

// March 12th, 2009 // View Comments // Dolphins for kids

How the dolphins keep up with the boats traveling much faster? The boat creates a pressure wave as it pushes through the water. Dolphins surf on this bow wave, cleverly getting a ride at speeds they couldn’t manage on their own, more than 29 miles per hour!