Animal Facts:
Even though they spend their whole lives in water, the bottlenose dolphin is, like all dolphins, not a fish but a mammal. As such, dolphins have lungs instead of gills, and they need to surface regularly to breathe.
Naturally, as mammals, they’re also endothermic, which means warm-blooded, as well as viviparous, which means they give birth to live young whom they feed with milk.
But dolphins have also perfectly adapted to the element water. Unlike land mammals, which can breathe through their mouths as well as their noses, dolphins can only breathe through their blowholes, which are an evolved nose on the top of the dolphin’s head to make it easier to take in air when at the surface. This prevents the dolphin from inhaling water into its lungs, reducing the risk of drowning.
Sometimes, dolphins can also be seen holding up weak, sick or old members of their group between them who don’t have the strength to swim by themselves any more, so that they can breathe.
And they do the same for newborn dolphins. After a calf is born, the mother breaks the umbilical cord by swimming swiftly away from it. Then she swims underneath the newborn and lifts it to the surface so it can breathe in air for the first time.
The need to go to the surface to breathe about every ten minutes has an immense effect on the dolphin’s life. They can never fully go to sleep, as they would drown. Instead, they rest by switching off half of their brain and keeping the other half active, alternating between the two sides. This also enables them to watch out for any potential dangers while ‘resting’.
Threats include predators such as sharks or whales but also human hunters and boat propellers, with which they can collide when surfacing.
Of course, they also face the danger of not being able to find enough food because of overfishing, suffocating on plastic waste or falling prey to chemicals or oils that leak into the oceans.
And ships pose yet another threat to dolphins because they make the ocean a very noisy place. This is a problem because dolphins depend a lot on sound – for hunting, for communicating and for navigation. They use a process called echolocation, which works like a sonar system. Dolphins produce many high-frequency clicks that travel through the water. When the clicks meet an object, they bounce off of it and return as an echo.
Using this technique, dolphins can determine the location, shape and size of an object or animal, even in complete darkness. And the time it takes for the sound waves to come back helps them to determine how far away it is.
Knowing this, fishing nets can also pose a problem for the dolphins because they’re often too thin and amorphous for sound waves to bounce off. This makes dolphins not perceive them as an obstacle. And when they swim into a net and get tangled in it, they’ll drown. Because one thing the dolphin cannot do is swim backwards, due to them moving their flukes up and down, not sideways like fish do.
The good news about the anatomy of these flukes is that dolphins can pick up speed quickly when escaping a predator or when hunting.
Meanwhile, the flippers of the dolphin are only used for steering and balancing. This is important because dolphins have delicate skin, which can easily be injured by scraping against a hard surface.
On the upside, their skin is also quick to heal, and their cells are replaced as often as every two hours. This makes their skin smooth and sleek, enabling them to easily glide through the water, despite not having scales like fish.
Fish are on the bottlenose dolphin’s main menu. But they also eat squid, crabs, octopus, shrimps and other small creatures living in the oceans. These they swallow whole, as their rows of sharp teeth are good for catching and holding on to prey but not for grinding it.
Bottlenose dolphins, like all other saltwater dolphins, do not just need food for the nutrients, though. They also get the water intake they need directly from their food sources, as drinking salt water would lead to death from dehydration.
When hunting in groups, dolphins show their high social intelligence. They swim around a school of fish, driving them into a smaller and smaller space, then the dolphins take turns to swim in and catch a mouthful.
Additionally, dolphins are one of the rare animal species that have learned to use tools: they cover their snouts with sea sponges, for example, to protect those when foraging.
Bottlenose dolphins live in fluid social groups, called pods, which can also congregate to form larger herds if food is plenty. There are nursery pods with mothers and their calves, but which may also include elderly dolphins. And there are juvenile pods of mixed gender. Meanwhile, an adult male will often form a pair-bond with another adult male and come and go to mate with the females.
After a calf is born, it will learn to distinguish its mother’s whistle and those of the other pod members before developing its own. These unique signature whistles are like our human names and allow dolphins to recognise each other by sound alone.
A lesser-known fact is that dolphins are one of the few animal species to practice foreplay: they use the act of copulation not only to reproduce but also to have fun.
And fun is important to dolphins, even outside mating. Dolphins like to incorporate playfulness into their routine. They will leap out of the water, play football with an octopus or pufferfish, do seaweed tag games or blow bubble rings.
Their playfulness is only matched by the dolphin’s curiosity, which makes them approach other species, including humans.
Some spiritual meanings:
The dolphin is a mammal but its habitat is the water, which is not only the place of emotions and the subconscious but which is also moving continuously.
Are you in touch with your emotions? Do you express them? Is there anything you need to bring to the surface?
And do you go with the rhythm of life instead of working against it?
Dolphins are social animals and most live inside cooperative pods, where healthy members take care of the old, weak and ill.
Do you have people in your life you can rely on? And can others rely on you?
Or do you need to be more social? Are you feeling isolated?
Having this spirit animal means that you might be called to help others. But you also need to learn how to receive help.
Dolphins need to regularly come to the surface to breathe.
Do the same by taking regular breaks.
Also, do you breathe too shallowly?
Learn meditation techniques to breathe more deeply.
When dolphins sleep, half their brain is still alert.
This tells us how vigilant dolphin people are. But at times, your brain can also be too alert, making you overthink and worry.
Is that a problem you have?
Or do you tend to ignore your thoughts completely?
Listen to what your thoughts have to tell you, but don’t get bogged down in fears that will never come to pass.
Like the dolphin itself, dolphin people are usually good communicators who can express their truth clearly.
Additionally, the echolocation speaks of a high auditory connection.
Use sounds – inspiring music, spoken affirmations, humming chanting or binaural beats – for your benefit.
That dolphins ‘see’ via echolocation tells you to trust your intuition and inner guidance. Ignoring it might take you off the right path and into a dead end.
Also, do you like what you get back?
Change your focus to receive different results.
The dolphin is very sensitive when it comes to its surroundings.
Do you allow yourself to be sensitive?
Or are you too sensitive and need to create healthier boundaries?
Also, that the dolphin’s skin heals so quickly might mean that you are talented at the healing arts.
Dolphins are inventive and intelligent.
Do you use your wit and resourcefulness to get what you want?
Use anything at your disposal to ride the tides of success.
Dolphins are well known for their playful nature.
Do you allow yourself to have fun? Are there any areas in your life that prevent you from being happy? Have you become so laden down with responsibilities that you’ve forgotten how to let loose?
Or are you too childish? Should you take things more seriously?
Dolphin people might need to heal their inner child and connect to it once more.
The dolphin is a very curious species, which doesn’t only show compassion with its pod members but also with other species.
Approach others with curiosity, and they’ll most likely respond in kind.
Also, explore new hobbies and activities and try yourself out.
If you want to read up on more spirit animals or want to learn more about spiritual topics in general, pick up a copy of my book “Willow and Strix – A spiritual journey” ©, available as a paperback or ebook (free for kindle unlimited users) US – UK – DE and in other countries
A. Wakan's Spirit Animals 