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Life Cycle of Dolphin

29 11:54:23

Life Cycle of Dolphin






     Sea life is exciting with lot of deep sea fishes, octopus, dolphins and sharks. The more you fathom the secrets of the sea life the more fascinating it gets. We study some dolphin facts to know more about their life cycle.
The dolphin life cycle starts with its birth, and like any other mammal, the dolphin gives birth to live babies. There are several breeds of dolphins but their life cycle is about the same. One of the most intelligent mammals in existence, they are social animals. They interact with humans and are known to save human life. Human beings have always been fascinated with these sea creatures.
The dolphin life cycle begins with the reproductive cycle. After dolphins mate, the female pregnancy starts between 11 to 12 months. Pregnancy length for the dolphins depends on the species of the dolphin. Some will be pregnant for 11 months while some others carry their babies for 1 year. According to the dolphin life cycle, it reaches sexual maturity at 7 to 12 years of age for a female and 10 to 15 years for a male.
One of the most fascinating things about the birth process of dolphins is that it resembles the birth process of humans. When a dolphin gives birth, another female dolphin is present through the entire birth process. The dolphin calf is born with a tail first and open eyes, and alert senses. The calf has enough muscular coordination.
She is like a dolphin midwife. After the birth of the baby dolphin, they help assist it to the surface, so that it can take its first breath.
When a female dolphin starts the process she must beware of the predators. It takes about 3 hours for her to give birth. There is a flow of blood during this process and the dolphins need to watch out for sharks, its worst enemies. While the dolphin is giving birth, the other dolphins engulf her to form a circle around her to keep her protected against the predators.
Dolphins do not stay with a single mate throughout their life time. They have different mates during a life cycle. A female dolphin will give birth about every 4 or 5 years. A dolphin will have around11 calves in her lifetime. The reason for dolphins to have a long gap between births is because she cares for her young ones for a long time before she sets them free to fend for themselves.

The family group lives in protective herds and swim close together. The vulnerable members like the calves are at the center and are protected. A calf will rarely stray more than few feet from its mother.
Just like human babies, dolphin babies too feed on their mothers?milk . But, feeding under water is a bit challenging. Thus, nature has evolved dolphins to nurse their young ones underwater. The female dolphin squirts her milk into the baby抯 mouth.
The dolphin life cycle will last for 35 to 55 years. Most females do not live much beyond the reproductive years.