Dolphins are a lot of children’s favorite animal—they are agile, intelligent, friendly and playful, and they have the cutest faces that always seem to be smiling. In aquariums, a dolphin performance is always one of the most popular shows with the audience, especially the young kids.
But your children may ask: If dolphins are aquatic mammals that do not produce any eggs (as they’re taught in school), where do baby dolphins come from?
Not many people have the luck to witness the amazing moment of a dolphin mother giving birth to its baby – though the process of labor and delivery of a dolphin is not all that different from a human being’s, except for the fact that it happens in the water and the baby’s tail comes out of the mommy before its head. Once the baby is born, the dolphin mother quickly swims under it, uses her snout to carry or push her new baby to the surface of the water where it will take its first breath. If a baby dolphin doesn’t breath right away – and this happens from time to time – the mother dolphin will gently push or tap on the baby’s stomach, throat, and chest to stimulate the baby to take a breath. The baby dolphin then begins to breathe, swim, feed from its mother, and play.
The baby dolphin’s tail emerges from the dolphin mother
Dolphins grow and mature rapidly, but, just like humans, dolphin babies need love, guidance, and teaching in order to learn all the skills they need to survive, and one day, have babies of their own.
Here are some photos of a dolphin giving birth. More photos can be found at Dolphintrainer.com
Check out the two videos below of a couple brand new baby dolphins!
