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Tabitha Grubbs Mrs. McKay Computer Studies 3 November 2011 ** Dolphins ** //**Intro**// I am writing a paper about dolphins. People tell me that I am like a fish when I am in water, but sometimes I think I swim more like a dolphin if I had better lungs. Dolphins are sometimes confused with porpoises even though both species are completely different. All dolphins are carnivores. Some feed on fish while others feed on squid, octopus, crabs, shrimp and even lobsters too. As a group, dolphins are often referred to as "small" cetaceans, even though some of them are quite large, attaining lengths of over 20 feet. Dolphins possess distinct beak. Dolphins of some kind occupy virtually all oceans and major seas as well as some large river systems (Gardner). This paper is going to be about Dolphins eating habits, where they live, and how poaching dolphins affects them. //**Eating Habits**// The dolphins in the wild catch there food underwater and eat also underwater, but it is expensive to research and film dolphins underwater. Dolphins tend to catch fish close to the surface of the water: Most of the data regarding the feeding habits of dolphins has come from analyzing the contents of the stomachs of dead dolphins that wash up on the beach. In a few cases, however, underwater photographers have been lucky enough to catch wild dolphins feeding. Scientific information in most cases comes from dolphins in captivity or research institutes, but most scientists however, do not feel that the habits of captive dolphins can be compared to those in captivity. ("Facts about Dolphins") Dolphins are really not hunters they just feed off of the most abundant species available to them. Dolphins hunt in packs (groups) to herd the fish to one area so all the dolphins in that group can eat. Depending on what the dolphins eat depends on how much they need to eat.



//**Living Environment**// Dolphins migrate to where their food is. If all of the dolphins stay where they are at and eat only in that one spot they will drain all of their food supplies and take all of the food for the humans or other species living with them. When dolphins migrate they can live in cold or warm water depending on the season. Some dolphins live close to shallow water while others prefer to live in deep water. Most dolphins are scattered around the world in the water except in the north or south poles. Their body can only go to water that is roughly around forty degrees fareheight.



//**Poaching**// Some people kill dolphins just by fishing for fish. Their fishing nets get caught on the dolphins and they can’t swim to the surface to breath so they drown in a fishers fishing net. While poaching has various effects, its most direct impact is extinction, either globally or within a given locality. Poaching has also been associated with the spread of disease, both in animals and humans. (Peter) Dolphin meat is a delicacy. People see dolphins getting killed and can’t do anything because they don’t have the proof that the group or said person killed the dolphin. The only proof that someone poached a dolphin is what is left after the poacher gets rid of the body. The dolphin business is a lucrative one, and for many fishermen, it's their only source of income. One way to earn a big profit is through the dolphin entertainment industry, but some are purchased through dolphin hunts. According to SaveJapanDolphins.org, a live bottlenose dolphin can sell for more than $150,000 to a dolphinarium, theme park or other exhibition center. For the many other dolphins captured in a hunt that don't end up in the spotlight, their destiny is usually death. (Montgomery) //**Conclusion**// You think dolphins are nice and cute and do all these cute neat tricks some are killed in the process for fame or just killed to make an income. So when you go to sea world an see the dolphins swimming around just wonder how many dolphins had to be killed for this dolphin to shine in the light. Dolphins are making their way to the list to be on the endangered species because of the fact they are being poached and used for entertainment. In this paper about dolphins I have told you their feeding habits, where they live and the effects of poaching has done to them.



Works Cited Gardner, Emily. "Dolphins." //earthtrust.org/wlcurric/dolphins.html//. Windward Environmental Center, n.d. Web. 3 Nov 2011. http://earthtrust.org/wlcurric/dolphins.html/>. (Gardner). Information and Facts. //Facts about Dolphins//. Bioexpedition.com, 2001. Web. 4 Nov 2011. . Montgomery, Joy. "Why do people hunt dolphins?." //Blood dolphins//. Discovery Communications, LLC, 2011. Web. 9 Nov 2011. . Peter, Magelah. "Poaching." //Encyclopedia of Earth//. Environmental Information Coalition, October 5, 2007. Web. 9 Nov 2011. .(Peter) WWF-Whales and Dolphins. //Old dangers persist, new ones have appeared//. World Wildlife Fund, 2011. Web. 9 Nov 2011. . []

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