By Richard C. Connor, Dawn M. Peterson
An obtainable and lavishly illustrated exploration of the area of whales and dolphins, in keeping with the newest examine, follows the seventy-five species of those creatures from start via all facets in their interesting lives. 10,000 first printing
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Extra resources for The Lives of Whales and Dolphins: From the American Museum of Natural History
Example text
Many dolphin calves succumb to sharks in their infancy. Disease probably claims a fair share. But then so does starvation. It was obvious that Yan herself was not getting e n o u g h to eat, despite the fact that the o t h e r females a p p e a r e d to be eating well, j u d g i n g f r o m their r o u n d e d figures. P e r h a p s it had something to do with feeding territory a n d this solitary, rather antisocial dolphin had been left with the dregs. Or Yan may n o t have been as skilled a h u n t e r as the others.
Young killer whales' pectoral fins make up one-ninth of their body length, c o m p a r e d to one-fifth in adults. How does a cetacean tell a male f r o m a female? Visual clues probably provide i n f o r m a t i o n in many cases. In some species males look strikingly different f r o m females; in others, the sexes are virtually indistinguishable. In Shark Bay male and female bottlenose dolphins are about the same size a n d look alike. We are f o r t u n a t e that they enjoy riding the bows of o u r boats upside down, enabling us to peek at their genitals.
When the dolphin surfaces, its pupil narrows to a double slit, an adaptation to allow it to see well both u n d e r w a t e r and in the air. What are whales a n d dolphins looking at? Foraging. If survival in the sea could be reduced to a single rule it would undoubtedly be to find as m u c h f o o d as is possible (without, of course, serving as a n o t h e r creature's dinner). While other senses are also used in the capture of food a n d avoidance of becoming prey, vision certainly has a part to play.