The Panda Bear

Endangered Species Report from Maple Leaf International School, Dalian, China.

Teacher: Miss McGee

E-mail:

JSPINNER DOLPHINSJ

Name: Michelle

Grade: 4

Spinner Dolphins

Starring the Spinner dolphins! They’re in the same family as whales and porpoises, which are called Cetaceans. A Spinner dolphin has a dark gray color on its back, a lighter gray color on both sides and a white color on its belly. Its skin is exceedingly flexible and delicate. It is very sensitive. It has a long, thin beak, connected to its eyes. Dolphins also have pointed flippers. Spinner dolphins weigh about 45-75 kg. Dolphins are approximately 1.3m-2.1m long. They have about 172-252 teeth. They are really lovable animals!

Spinner Dolphins’ Names

Spinner dolphins are named for their playful way of diving. Their scientific name is,’ Stenella longirostris’. Longirostris means ‘long nose’ or ‘beak’. It has a lot of nicknames, such as, ‘rollover’, ‘long snouted’, and the ‘long beaked dolphin’. ‘Long snouted’ is the most popular nickname for Spinner dolphins.

Eating Habits and Favorite Foods

What do Spinner dolphins eat? They eat fish and squid that swim in the central part of the water. Dolphins are nocturnal mammals (they feed at night). Spinner dolphins only eat meat, which means they are carnivorous. The prey they eat are mostly migrating species.

Habitat

Spinner dolphins are found in areas that have warm temperatures. Usually dolphins are found in tropical and subtropical oceans all around the world. They’re found near shorelines and in bays where they have daily rest and play. Spinner dolphins are often found in large groups of 100-300 dolphins. Usually they’re found in smaller groups lower than 100.

Reproduction and Mating

Dolphins have the strangest way of breeding. The calves are born tail first. That’s different form all other mammals. They give birth to a single calf. Females give birth every 2-3 years after a 10-11 month of the gestation period (the period between conception and birth).

Do you know when dolphins mate? Well, dolphins mate in the summertime. Only male dolphins over 10 years old can mate. Females can start to mate when they’re 5 years old and above. The groups of male dolphins have a leaping contest that can go as high as 20 feet in the air to get the female’s attention.

Dolphin Dives

Learn about how dolphins dive!! When dolphins dive into the air about 20 feet high, they hold their breath and stop their heart from beating.

Problems

Save the dolphins because tuna fishing is killing the poor dolphins! Now fewer dolphins are being killed, but the dolphins’ numbers have not returned to normal numbers.

Solutions

These days, tuna fisherman use dolphin-safe nets so dolphins will not be killed. We should abandon using the kinds of nets that can kill dolphins. All people on the earth should respect dolphins! The pollution in the water can kill dolphins. We can save the dolphins and all the other fish by not polluting the water. We can do that by not throwing rubbish in the water and by not dumping sewage in the water… There are lots of other ways we can save dolphins.

Final Thoughts

I chose dolphins because I was the last person in my class to choose an animal. I felt so unlucky. But then, I came across ‘Spinner dolphins’. Well, I like dolphins because they’re smart and cute. In the first place, I didn’t know they were endangered. Did I? But now Spinner dolphins are in the ‘endangered’ category. I felt a sense of luck because I chose a wonderful animal (not because they’re endangered). I was so content!!

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