Dolphin
Is a dolphin a mammal?
All mammals are different but one of the most fascinating marine mammals is the dolphin. Some people just think that the dolphin is just a dumb cute animals. In reality the dolphin is extremely intelligent. That is why people train them to do tricks for entertainment. Dolphins are mischievous and adapt well to human interaction. Most dolphins just love to play, many scientists compare them to dogs. They are part of the family Delphinidae and the class mammilia.
There are around 40 different species of dolphins including bottle nosed, spotted, common, commerson, and dusky. Each type share similar characteristics but have differences in appearance. Dolphins have most of the five senses that humans do the only one they really lack is smell. Dolphins have pretty bad eyesight but they have amazing hearing. A dolphin can hear much better than a human although the ears on the side of their heads are really quite small. Scientists do not believe the dolphin has a sense of smell because they lack an olfactory nerve. It is believed that the dolphin has a sense of taste since dolphins will prefer to eat certain types of fish. Dolphins can have hundreds of teeth and the way they are placed gives them an appearance of a smile. Then the fifth and final sense is touch. It is also thought that dolphins have a keen sense for feeling.
Representation of an eight-week dolphin foetus inside its mother’s womb.
Another characteristic that makes the dolphin similar to people and helps make it a mammal is its babies. A baby dolphin is called its calf. Dolphins still go through a related birth process but with a 12 month gestation period instead of a 9 month. Another difference from humans is that when their little baby comes out it will be about 44 pounds! Which is really small compared to the mother and father. Calves can see and swim from the second they are born. One of the most interesting things about dolphins is that when they grow up they leave, just like us, but they come back and visit once in a while.
People like marine biologists are studying these creatures everyday. We still are learning a great deal about our lovable flipper. This mammal is definitely worth the time and effort. If you want to know more about the bottle nosed dolphin research or go to facts about them.
http://desma9fall07a.files.wordpress.com/2007/11/15169_dolphins-have-names.jpg picture
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolphin info.
http://library.thinkquest.org/3935/DOLPHINS.HTM#baby info.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/06/sci_nat_animals_in_the_womb/img/2.jpg pic
Jobs
There are a number of jobs that deal with caring for, working with, or helping mammals. Every job has a different goal in mind. Including saving mammals, learning from them, or figuring out ways to use their full potential. Some examples are Veterinarians and trainers, but I’d like to focus on zoology.
Being a zoologist means you study animals, whether it is animal behaviors or their anatomy. People become zoologists for many reasons, but a huge reason for most is the caring factor. They care about the animals they are studying and are interested in helping them or learning about them. Zoologists work with animals big and small, vicious and sweet, cute and creepy. To them, they are all interesting and useful. These scientists question something and then conduct experiments to find answers for them, kind of like in high school chemistry classes. Every answer they find helps them learn or maybe even discover something new we didn’t already know.
“Only if we understand can we care. Only if we care will we help. Only if we help shall they be saved.” (Jane Goodall) This quote is from a famous zoologist Jane Goodall who spent many years of her life studying monkeys to find answers to her questions. This quote basically sums up why I think people study animals and why we should study them. These jobs are extremely important to how we live and our future. We have learned so much since people have had the desire to educate themselves.
If someone would like to become a zoologist, the main requirement would be to love animals. Then they would need to take as many science classes, such as biology, as possible. Another important step is finding a college where someone could major in zoology, such as Cornell University or Michigan State. A person who wants to become a zoologist also would be helpful to earn an honors in zoology and then go on to post graduate studies to become more than just an assistant.
Although these jobs take a lot of commitment and work they are important. These scientists have saved our mammals when they were sick and have found answers to troubling questions. What would we do with out these devoted individuals?
http://www.yell.com/images/classifications/vets.jpg picture
http://www.biologyreference.com/images/biol_04_img0459.jpg picture
http://womenshistory.about.com/od/quotes/a/jane_goodall.htm quote
www.msu.edu/ and http://www.cornell.edu/ schools
Do we need mammals?
Mammals are considered the dominant species on the planet. Especially since human beings are in the mammal category. So if humans are important then mammals also have some importance. They are strong and weak, cute and mean, even big and small. All mammals are different but they share some main qualities that make them a mammal. They are important to use and the world for many reasons. Most people in the world use mammals as a source of nutrients whether they are drinking milk from a cow or goat or eating meat from a pig. In caveman times the men used mammals fur for clothing and warmth. This nutrient source keeps people healthy and well nourished. Without mammals we would not have milk or cheese which are some of the most necessary parts of the food pyramid.
People also use mammals as companions. What would we do without mans best friend? Animals like dogs can comfort people when they are down or be an unconditional love in someones life. A lot of people use animals as their rock or emotional aid. Its amazing to come home from a long day of work or school to a happy puppy that is wagging her tail. Mammals also encourage activity. Whether you are horse back riding, walking your dog, or swimming with the dolphins. They make you get up and move with them helping you exercise. Another thing we use mammals for is descriptions. Like when you say he is as slow as an elephant. Those descriptions are important in everyday life and necessary for jobs.
We also use mammal habits to study and make decisions for them that affect our future. As a society we study mammals to develop ideas about our world and make good choices for the world.
Mammals are also a huge source of entertainment. We use many mammals in television and in the learning processes. Or for shows at amusement parks and zoos. On T.V. there are trained monkeys and dogs that entertain us with funny tricks and stories. Then we also have educational shows where people explain about how the mammal functions and interesting facts about the species. We also train mammals to do tasks that we are to lazy to do. Like for example sending monkeys up into space to do things we eventually would like to do.
Mammals are our coworkers, our employees and us. Not to mention most of the furry creatures are our friends that have a purpose whether it is on an emotional level or logical level.
Image
When a person looks at a polar bear what do they see? Nowadays it seems a simple baby polar bear can spark quite the conversation. Many people see a threatened species that needs man kind to help it survive and a bunch of others see the polar bear as a chance to take a stand against global warming.
This poor species has had to fight its way through hunters and actually succeeded in making a comeback but now the road ahead looks bleak for this cold bear. The rate at which the ice is melting has increased much faster than computers predicted which could spell the end for the species. As an environmental correspondent Alister Doyle stated “Time may be running out for polar bears as global warming melts the ice beneath their paws.” This statement is becoming so realistic that it is scary. Where would the polar bears go if the all the ice melts? Could they live without ice? How many polar bears are left? Will our children and grandchildren get to see a polar bear? These questions and many many more run through our heads when a solution has not been found. The idea that maybe this is a bigger issue than just saving the polar bears comes up. A lot of people are using the polar bears situation to try and pass laws against carbon dioxide emissions. To hopefully put an end to global warming, or at least try and slow it down. But so far the only thing the environmentalists have gotten is the polar bear put on the threatened list. Meaning it is now against the law for hunters to kill them but if the real cause is global warming then this small act will not actually help the polar bear at all. Also a great deal of people are using global warming as a chance to bash Bush. He may have helped in worsening the issue but many people have contributed to the things causing global warming so Bush should not be the main focus.
At this point it looks like the polar bears future might be pretty bleak but they are not a lost cause just yet. There are many people fighting to save this mammal and many more will start to help in the near future. The best thing to do is be educated and understand what is happening and the deeper meaning behind a picture of a baby polar bear.
www.worldproutassembly.org/polar_bear
help?
Our world needs to wake up and help each other out. Millions of people live in horrible conditions but do not try and give aid to each other. Also there are a bunch of species of mammals that are listed as endangered and threatened. As a community we should work together to save animals like polar bears and humpback whales. From things like poaching, global warming, and some other factors. It mostly comes down to whether people care or not. There are a lot of things that people could do to help out others and save innocent animals like protecting areas that have endangered species. It is our duty as the most intelligent beings on earth to help the animals that cannot fight for themselves. Our future would be pretty sad if the world does not realize that we need to help others even if it does not seem to help us at all. People do not help to get something back they help to feel good about themselves, so they think they are a good person. When people work together amazing things can be accomplished. For example a while ago the Timber Wolf was on the endangered species list and was on the verge of extinction. But a group of environmentalists worked together and started to bring back the numbers of Timber Wolves until they were taken off the endangered species list. Now of course saving this mammal took a ton of work, research, and man power but we now still have Timber Wolves in the world. So the question is was it worth it?
A lot of people may ask why should I care about some stupid mammal? Well not only does that mammal deserve to live they make a difference in our lives. Some mammals are important for the aesthetic value meaning the beauty and diversity. Millions of mammals have inspired art and are a part of peoples cultures like elephants. Many elephants are in pieces of African cultured art. People who live in Africa almost worship the elephant and use them to help move things. The African elephants went on the endangered species list because hunters would kill them for their ivory tusks. This is extremely terrible. If they were to become extinct a whole group of people would be emotionally upset over the tragedy. Elephants are important to that group of people and all the other animals connected to it.
It is super simple to get involved and make a difference. All you need to do is care.
Introduction
This blog is all about mammals and their lifestyles. Each post will be about a certain charicteristic of a mammal or an interesting update that has to do with endangered mammals. Mammals are extremely important to everything in the world. Every mammal is connected in some way to every other thing. Whether it is within a food chain or the life cycle. There are a tremendous amount of animals, mammals, on endangered species lists that need our help to survive so that the biodiversity and beauty of our world will not disappear. Another aspect of this blog will be human anatomy and how human beings work with the mammals around them. This blog may also include issue of debate relating to mammals like global warming. Mammals are fascinating to me so I started this blog to basically discover fun and interesting things, issues, or facts about all the mammals and interconnected world we live in. Mostly this blog is a way for me to put something I am passionate about into words. This blog is extremely different from anyone else’s because it is about all aspects of mammals. It is not all about one certain thing. It is a variety of aspects that all stem from the same main topic. In other words it is a collection of bits and pieces from every aspect of mammalogy.
