The brilliant mind of dolphins. The brain of humans and dolphins - description, characteristics, comparison and interesting facts Dolphins intelligence

Recent research by biologists has led to a sensational conclusion: dolphins are the most intelligent creatures on the planet.

The dolphin is an intelligent animal. New arguments in favor of this hypothesis were provided by recent studies by scientists from the University of Pennsylvania. For quite a long time, experts have studied the language of dolphins and obtained truly amazing results. As is known, sound signals occur in the nasal canal of dolphins as air passes through it. It was possible to establish that animals use sixty basic signals and five levels of their combination. Dolphins are capable of creating a “dictionary” of 1012! Dolphins hardly use so many “words,” but the volume of their active “vocabulary” is impressive - about 14 thousand signals! For comparison: the same number of words makes up the average human vocabulary. And in Everyday life people get by with 800-1000 words.

The dolphin signal, when translated into human language, is a kind of hieroglyph that means more than a single word. The fact that dolphins have a language that is more complex than that of humans is a real sensation.

Rare abilities

Nature sometimes wonders amazing riddles. And one of these mysteries, without a doubt, remains dolphins. Despite the fact that they often live in full view of humans, we know very little about them. But even the little that is known about these animals is amazing. Dolphins truly have amazing abilities. So amazing that the American John Lilly, who studied brain physiology at the University of Pennsylvania, called dolphins a “parallel civilization.”

First of all, scientists are surprised by the volume and structure of the dolphin brain. Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania placed an animal in the womb of a magnetic resonance imaging scanner and saw that the device nervous system in dolphins it is so perfect that sometimes it seems as if it is better developed than in humans. “The brain of a bottlenose dolphin,” says Professor Laela Sai, “weighs 1,700 grams, which is 350 grams more than that of an adult man. In terms of its complexity, the dolphin’s brain is by no means inferior to the human brain: there are even more folds, tubercles and convolutions in it.” . The total number of nerve cells in a dolphin is higher than in humans. Previously, scientists believed that the dolphin's brain was so large because its nerve cells were not as densely packed as in humans. However, we were convinced of the opposite: the brain in the cranium is located identically. True, the dolphin's brain looks more like a sphere than a brain. homo sapiens, which is slightly flattened. Dolphins have association cortical areas identical to humans. “This fact indirectly indicates that dolphins can be intelligent,” say marine biologists.

The parietal, or motor, lobe of the dolphin's brain is larger in area than the parietal and frontal lobes of humans combined. Why did nature gift these creatures so much? What is this - the result of centuries-old evolution or, perhaps, the “inheritance” of intelligent ancestors?

It is curious that the occipital optic lobes of dolphins are extremely large, but they do not rely much on vision. Then what do they need them for? As is known, dolphins to a greater extent They “see” with their ears, emitting ultrasound. An acoustic lens on the dolphin's head focuses the ultrasound, directing it to various objects. Thanks to this, the dolphin “sees” with its ears. He “feels” the underwater object, determining its shape.

The inhabitants of the deep sea have two hearing organs: one is normal, the other is ultrasonic, says researcher Mario Etti. - The external passage is closed, which increases the ability to hear in water. The receptors of another organ are located on the sides of the lower jaw; they perceive the slightest sound vibrations. The dolphin hears his lower jaw much better than our ears. The hearing of dolphins and killer whales is 400-1000 times sharper than humans. Thanks to the many cavities in the blowhole (nasal valve), acoustic vibrations arise that spread over enormous distances in the water. Thus, blue whales and sperm whales can hear the sounds made by their fellows thousands of kilometers away!

As already mentioned, dolphins masterfully control their speech apparatus. By blowing the same portion of air back and forth, they generate such a range of sounds that their variations and quantity far exceed the sounds made by humans. Moreover, each dolphin has an individual voice, its own tempo and timbre of speech, manner of speaking and “handwriting” of thinking.

It is very interesting that the organs of hearing and speech working simultaneously create an amazing wealth of sound palette. The capabilities of the mammal's brain are so high that it is able to separately analyze spectra traveling at a frequency of 3000 pulses per second! In this case, the time interval between pulses is only about 0.3 milliseconds! And therefore, for dolphins, human speech is a very slow process. They're talking at high speed. In addition, they are able to isolate details in the speech of their fellow humans that people are not even aware of, since our ears cannot catch them.

But that's not all. Scientists have conducted a series of experiments proving that dolphins can exchange very complex messages. Here is just one example. The dolphin was given a certain task, which his fellow dolphin, located in the neighboring enclosure, had to complete. Through the wall of the enclosure, one dolphin “told” the other what to do. For example, take a red triangle and give it to a person. Both dolphins received a fish as a reward. However, it was clear that they were not working for remuneration; they were fascinated by the process of creative experimentation itself. The researchers conducted thousands of experiments, the tasks were constantly changing, and the dolphins never made a mistake. The only possible conclusion from this is that dolphins perfectly understand everything that happens and navigate the world like people.

Biologists who conducted experiments noticed with surprise that often the experimental subjects themselves began to control the course of the experiment and its organizers - people... The energy of creative search was transferred to the dolphins, and they suggested that the experimenters complicate and modify the task, while the scientists unexpectedly noticed that they were becoming an experimental model for dolphins who tried to switch roles with them. So who studied whom?

Cousins ​​in mind?

One theory about the origin of dolphins is that they and other cetaceans descended from ancient animals that moved from land to sea. Possible ancestors are the 20-meter Basilosaurus and the fossil Dorudon. Neither of them had as many brains as dolphins have today. Why did animals that went to sea to live need brains that were superior in structure to humans? After all, sharks have been swimming calmly in the same water for hundreds of millions of years. They have a very small brain, and it is enough for them to catch prey.

There is another interesting hypothesis. Some scientists believe that in the process of evolution there was a period when the distant ancestors of humans, for some reason, were forced to leave land and live in water for some time. They had to get food by diving to great depths. Due to constant oxygen starvation, the brain volume of these creatures increased noticeably. Then, after another change in living conditions, our aquatic ancestors returned to land... But maybe not all of them returned, but some branch remained in the ocean and evolved into dolphins? And the current inhabitants of the deep sea are our “cousins ​​in mind”? Not long ago, Japanese sailors discovered and brought ashore an unusual bottlenose, which was recorded to have atavism - “hind limbs”, very reminiscent of feet...

Why do dolphins need such powerful intelligence? They do not build houses, do not create communications, they do not have television or the Internet. However, it may turn out that they don’t need it. They have had enough of the colossal opportunities they have. Perhaps dolphins already live in the virtual world of their consciousness and they simply have no need external signs comfort and all that we call the benefits of civilization. And they look at us, people, from the height of their intellect as backward creatures, unable to understand them or be useful to them in any way, and besides, in many cases they act barbarously towards other creatures. Their community is a real parallel civilization.

And therefore it may turn out that humanity is in vain looking for brothers in mind in the depths of the Universe, while they are very close. You just need to take a closer look at them, and perhaps then all the wealth will be revealed to a person parallel worlds. Nearby are entire ant megalopolises, bee cities and urban bird nests. Why not other worlds - with their own laws, routines, history? But it will be difficult for a person to come to terms with the fact that there is no need to look for romantic parallel civilizations, and all previous searches are empty efforts. Although from time to time astronomers record signals in the vast expanses of endless galaxies that resemble a dolphin whistle.

Alexander Belov

OPINIONS

Brain work

Dr. Jerry Presley, marine fauna specialist from Woodshole Oceanographic Institution (USA):

There are hypotheses that explain the evolution of the brain of mammals due to their aquatic lifestyle. The brain in this case is considered as a cybernetic system consisting of neuron elements, the reliability of which can be increased by increasing the number of spare elements. In other words, if there is a weak link, then it is better to duplicate it. The reason for the enlargement of the dolphin's brain was oxygen starvation. Deep diving is an abnormal functioning of the brain. And therefore, the advantage is given to the one who can hold his breath and whose brain does not suffer. For example, the sperm whale has a larger brain than blue whale, because it dives to a depth of about a kilometer.

Olga Silaeva, doctor biological sciences, leading researcher at the Institute of Ecology and Evolution. A. N. Severtsova:

It is believed that humans differ from animals in the presence of a language system. However, it is not. Language as a means of communication between individuals exists in almost all animals and insects. Dolphin vocabulary - about a thousand words. That is, dolphins have a very developed speech culture.

Prepared material
Ekaterina Sivkova

Each week, Look At Me takes a look at a popular misconception and tries to figure out why it is so attractive to the majority of people who advocate it, and ultimately why it is not true. In the new issue - that dolphins have a completely unfounded reputation as the smartest mammals.

Statement:

Dolphins are the most intelligent mammals on the planet after humans. The dolphin's brain is in no way inferior to the human brain in terms of structural complexity: it even has more convolutions and nerve endings.

What has attracted the attention of scientists around the world to the extraordinary intelligence of dolphins is primarily the size of their brains. Brain adult weighs about 1,700 grams, while the average person's brain weighs 1,400 grams. In 1961, psychoanalyst and neuroscientist John C. Lilly, in his book Man and Dolphin: Adventures of a New Scientific Frontier, stated that dolphins have their own language with 60 basic signals and 5 levels of their combination, and after 10–20 years a person will be able to master this language and establish communication. In addition, dolphins stand out from other intelligent animals due to the presence of self-awareness (they are able to recognize themselves in the mirror) and emotional sympathy (readiness to come to the aid of other individuals). In India, for example, dolphins are officially recognized as individuals, and dolphinariums throughout the country are banned because they violate the dolphins' right to freedom.

Chris Parsons

zoologist

“There is no doubt that certain individuals of dolphins have the ability to comprehend sign language and symbolic signs, as well as recognize linguistic structures (mainly written language), if they are accompanied by the performance of an action or demonstration of an object. They are able to perceive complex linguistic structures such as syntax, analyze the behavior of others, “cheat” for their own benefit, and recognize their reflection in the mirror - something that some babies are not capable of. In fact, their level of intelligence and awareness is at the level of a preschool child.”

Why this is not true:

The size of a dolphin's brain has nothing to do with its intelligence: dolphins need large brains to stay warm and remember complex coastlines.

Justin Gregg, author of the book Are Dolphins Really Smart? The mammal behind the myth, is convinced that the language of dolphins is extremely limited and therefore does not prove that they are intellectually gifted. No one denies that dolphins have a complex signaling system that ensures the transfer of information between individuals, but it can only be called a language. And the emotional sympathy of dolphins is extremely exaggerated: they are able to attack humans and kill the young of other species (for example, porpoises). According to animal acoustic communication specialist Jay Mortan, dolphins need large brains for no more than to keep their heads warm and navigate.

It is believed that dolphins have extraordinary mental abilities that distinguish them and elevate them above the rest of the animal world. Some researchers note that they may smarter than people. These cetaceans have the skills of understanding, the ability to show emotions and control behavior. They are one of the few representatives natural environment who took a test to recognize themselves in the mirror.

Scientists' opinion

However, in Lately against the backdrop of the numerous studies There is an opinion that these are not the only intelligent representatives in the world of living beings. Justin Gregg, PhD, senior researcher at the Dolphin Communication project, agrees with him in his book “Are Dolphins Really Smart?”

He argues that their communication abilities are overrated, although whistles and clicks are a complex form of audio signals, but they do not contain characteristics human language. Next, let's look at other creatures that also have high intelligence to determine which of them is the smartest.

Features of chimpanzees

Gregg points out that killer whales are distant relatives of monkeys. "A lot of the things they do are very similar to primates, which is surprising given how different they are," he says. But when it comes to human behavior and responses to the world, which is one of the main ways individuals compare their perceptions to each other, killer whales are not on the same level as chimpanzees.

A 2007 study found that approximately 98% of the DNA between chimpanzees and humans is the same. Observations and experiments show that chimpanzees are capable of empathy, altruism and self-awareness, where their intelligence is similar to beluga whales. But where they really excel is in cognitive function. Monkeys have deep memories and relatively advanced knowledge of tools. They are known to use sticks to catch ants and termites as a kind of fishing rod.

Elephant perception

The size of an elephant's brain suggests that its perception must be quite high. Like killer whales, they are capable of comforting and helping others, and one has even been recorded passing the mirror test. But the elephant lags behind the cetacean in one important area - it does not have long-term memory.

Researchers say beluga whales have the longest memory in the animal kingdom. It is reported that they can remember the whistles of their relatives for up to 20 years. A 2011 test of elephant perception found that, along with chimpanzees and whale relatives, they are among the most cognitively advanced in the world.

However, elephants really come out on top when it comes to perception. According to one 2013 study, they are able to decipher people's ethnicity, gender and age by listening to acoustic signals from voices.

Smart raccoons

Don't think killer whales are any smarter than those adorable little trash monsters. Can a beluga whale pick a lock? But amazing small animals can.

This fact is confirmed by a strange study conducted in 1907. In an experiment, raccoons cracked complex locks in less than 10 attempts. Even after they have been replaced or reversed. More recently, it was discovered that these amazing wild animals have an impeccable memory and are able to remember the solutions to puzzles for three years.

Octopus mental abilities

These inhabitants underwater world are able to communicate, remember those who give them food, they are curious, distinguish the shape and size of objects, and perform actions logically. It is noted that the octopus has the largest brain of all invertebrates, and three-fifths of its neurons are located in the tentacles, forming a control module.

They solve cognitive problems: find and remember the way out of complex mazes, open the lid of a jar to feast on crabs. They even cooperate with predators to jointly catch prey. All this points to their high level development of perception and some advantages over killer whales. Moreover, an interesting fact is noted - the German aquarium octopus Otto threw stones at the glass and splashed water into the overhead lamps. He tried to do short circuit so that the bright light does not bother him.

Pigs are highly intelligent creatures

Scientists have found that pigs cope with the tasks assigned to them no worse than chimpanzees. The study authors hope that people will soon stop viewing them only as meat. It is noted that pigs have long-term memory, are well oriented, and correctly perform moving tasks. They understand simple symbolic language and do a lot of really complex things, similar to primates.

Pigs are highly intelligent creatures, able to recognize themselves in the mirror, like killer whales. In addition, they are very sensitive, can empathize with other individuals, and gain knowledge that will help them solve problems later. As mothers, they are very caring and love to play with their babies. Several studies have shown that pigs are even smarter than dogs and cats, capable of solving problems faster than many primates. Finally, they understand abstract concepts and even manipulate a joystick by moving the cursor around the screen.

Understanding basic things by parrots

"Parrots are amazingly powerful in their symbolic manipulation," Gregg says. Like beluga whales, they are able to understand complex intellectual concepts that most people cannot master until kindergarten. These birds solve puzzles and also understand belief systems of cause and effect. During the research, one parrot named Alex passed the same intelligence tests as killer whales and monkeys.

It is noted that in many areas he showed good results, and in some even better than other participants in the experiment. When he was shown various objects, he named 50. He distinguished different colors and remembered the numbers up to eight. In addition, the bird recognized the concepts “different” and “same.” It is noted that African gray parrots can learn a large number of words and use them in the context of communicating with people.

Metacognition in rats

The psychology and emotional perception of rats is similar to humans, so they are often used for laboratory experiments. Like killer whales, rats also exhibit altruistic behavior, such as being known to free other relatives from cages during experiments.

They also have metacognition, or awareness of their own thinking, which is a mental ability seen only in humans and some primates. In fact, they were even better than some people at specific cognitive learning tasks. Rats are capable of making calculations to get food from a trap without being caught, or processing sensory signals to analyze situations and escape complex mazes.

The smartest orangutans

According to some experts, orangutans are the most intelligent primates. Compared to beluga whales, they are able to understand how to build objects and why it is necessary. For example, one 2012 study found that orangutans demonstrated skillful techniques in constructing safe and comfortable beds. And in 2018, these clever people amazed researchers with their skill in creating fishhooks. The primates even used them better than human children in the same experiment!

Conclusion

In scientific circles, in last years, there has been a noticeable shift in the study of the perception and development of our younger brothers. For many centuries, humanity knew little about their intelligence. The emergence of a new direction in science - cognitive ethology, which deals with the emotional and intellectual characteristics of living beings, has revealed their complex and deep thinking.

If we compare animals by level of intelligence, then the king of beasts will not be a lion at all. Dolphins will take first place, and elephants will take second place. The monkeys will only get fourth place. What explains this “arrangement” in the “hit parade” of abilities?

As is known, in monkeys visual memory is better developed than auditory memory. For dolphins, everything is exactly the opposite. They remember sounds much better than pictures. Thanks to this, dolphins distinguish each other by whistling. Each dolphin knows the individuals from its pod by voice and has its own personal “name”. With the help of whistles of different lengths, tonality and melody, dolphins communicate with each other. One dolphin, without seeing another, can “whistle” to him which pedal, right or left, needs to be pressed in order to get a fish. With the help of a whistle, you can describe to a friend the size of an obstacle that is invisible in muddy water. And echolocation impulses will help a dolphin recognize an obstacle - they play an even greater role in the life of dolphins than vision.

Dolphins are excellent sound mimics. They not only recognize sounds when listening, but also imitate them themselves. The creaking of a rusty door, the gurgling of water, bell ringing, the chirping of birds - talented dolphins can depict this or that noise so that eyes closed you can't tell it from the real thing! They can even copy human speech or laughter. If you record such onomatopoeia on tape and then listen to it at slow speed, the resemblance to a human voice will clearly appear.

These sea inhabitants can clearly distinguish shades of many colors, except blue. Memorizing geometric shapes is also not difficult for them. Moreover, dolphins distinguish between flat and three-dimensional shapes. They will never confuse a paper circle or square with a ball or cube. IN Soviet time This experiment was performed on dolphins. The trainer showed the animal the ball, then hid the toy behind the screen. When the screen moved apart, the dolphin saw a flat shield and a three-dimensional box. A ball was hidden in one of the objects. The dolphin only had to pull the loop connected to the desired object for the ball to fall out. So, even when the experiment was first conducted, the dolphins always chose the box and never tried to look for the ball inside the flat board. Thus, experience has shown that dolphins can distinguish between flat and three-dimensional objects.

Dolphins easily find objects that are attractive to them. If you show a dolphin, say, a fish or a ball, and then put it behind a screen, the dolphin will easily guess where and how to look for the object. Dolphins also have a good eye - you just have to look at the dexterity with which they jump through a hoop or throw a ball into a basket!

Dolphins are very emotional, and this can affect the learning process. For example, during scientific experiments, an angry or irritated dolphin makes more mistakes than a calm one. If a person hits or punishes a dolphin, the animal will refuse to carry out his tasks and work in pairs with him. Therefore, when training and exploring dolphins, they are rewarded with food, games, as well as affection and kindness.

Dolphins have well-developed imitation behavior. They quite easily remember and repeat the actions of other individuals. For example, off the coast of Australia in 2008, a pod of dolphins was spotted, where the leader knew how to stand on its tail. Other members of the clan quickly adopted this ability, imitating the leader. It is worth considering that this was not a requirement of the hierarchy. The dolphins decided to repeat the leader's trick out of interest and curiosity.

IN scientific articles a case is described when a female dolphin, having lived for some time in a dolphinarium, began to repeat numbers after its inhabitants, although she was not specially trained for this. After she was released into the wild, she taught members of her pack to repeat these tricks.

But dolphins can imitate not only each other. There is a known case when two dolphins who lived in the same pool with Navy SEAL, began to copy his actions. They slept in the same positions as the cat, adopted his swimming style, raking his fins like flippers and holding his tail motionless, although they had no strict need to repeat his actions. Dolphins have even learned to rub their bellies while lying on their backs near the surface of the water and yawn, imitating a cat!

The dolphin's brain stores a large amount of information received different ways. But in addition to its accumulation, dolphins know how to use it. The research approach is not alien to them, and it manifests itself in them more often than passivity or caution. They quickly assess the situation and adapt their behavior to it, and are well versed in what is happening.

Ecology

Dolphins are cute and friendly Marine life, which are often confused with fish. However, dolphins are intelligent and inquisitive mammals, mental capacity which surprise scientists a lot.

Dolphins have developed complex abilities, living in the harsh conditions of oceans and seas. For example, did you know that dolphins can for a long time stay awake, have unique abilities to navigate in space, have a magnetic sense and can even control blood flow in the body?

Dolphin brain

Dolphins know how to stay awake

All animals on the planet need sleep, including humans. The world record for sleep deprivation belongs to Randy Gardner who hasn't slept for 11 days. However, already on the 4th day he began to hallucinate.

If a person does not sleep, he will eventually die. The same thing will happen to any creature with developed brain functions, except for dolphins who, as it turns out, have learned to deprive themselves of sleep and still feel great. For example, baby dolphins do not sleep the same way as their parents during the first month of their lives.

The whole point is that these amazing creatures can turn off half your brain for some time. Scientists continuously tested the dolphins' reactions for 5 days, and, as it turned out, their reactions did not slow down. Blood tests for signs of stress or insomnia came back negative. Dolphins can use this ability endlessly.

Another study found that dolphins can use echolocation for 15 consecutive days with almost perfect accuracy. This makes sense because it allows animals to always be on alert and notice the approach of predators.

However, the most surprising thing is that part of the dolphin's brain still sleeps. At the same time, visual information begins to be processed by another, active part of the brain. In other words, if a dolphin turns off part of its brain, its second part can take on all the functions of the first. It's like having two brains instead of one.

Dolphin vision

Amazing Dolphin Vision

It is known that dolphins use echolocation in order to navigate the world in which they live. Since in sea ​​depths visibility leaves much to be desired; it is easier for animals to use sounds to “see” objects. You might think that they have no need for vision at all, but this is not so.

Dolphin vision much better than it might seem. Firstly, their eyes are located on both sides of their heads, which allows them to cover a huge area at 300 degrees. They can see what's behind them. Second, each eye moves independently of the other, allowing animals to look in different directions at the same time.

Dolphins also have reflective layer of cells, which is located behind the retina and is called tapetem lucidem. This allows them to see perfectly in low light. Moreover, dolphins can see just as well above the surface of the water as underwater.

Dolphin skin

You might wonder why dolphins are not picked on by other sea creatures, e.g. barnacles. Whales are often covered in these creatures, but dolphins seem to be immune. Dolphins' skin always looks smooth, clean and shiny. What is her secret?

Unique dolphin skin has a lot of advantages. Firstly, upper layer skin - epidermis - dolphins are no rougher than humans, it is 10-20 times thinner than the epidermis of any land animal. However, it is growing 9 times faster than ours.

Unique dolphin lungs

Dolphins are known to be excellent swimmers. For example, the bottlenose dolphin can hold its breath while underwater, up to 12 minutes, while diving to the depths up to 550 meters! They are capable of this thanks to their unique lungs.

Although the lungs of these animals are no larger than ours, they work much more efficiently. With every breath the dolphin changes about 80 percent or more air in the lungs. We can change only 17 percent.

The blood and muscles of dolphins can accumulate and transport huge amounts of oxygen due to the fact that in the animals’ bodies more red blood cells. This means a higher concentration of hemoglobin than in humans.

However, all this cannot fully explain how dolphins manage to hold their breath for so long and dive to such depths. It turns out that dolphins are able to direct blood flow in the desired direction. For example, during deep-sea diving, blood moves from the extremities to the heart and brain, improving their functioning in extreme conditions.

Wound healing in dolphins

When injured, dolphins are able to miraculously restore health. From a scientific point of view, their ability to recover is comparable with something fantastic.

For example, dolphins can survive severe injuries and can regenerate large amounts of damaged flesh in just a couple of weeks. Moreover, their appearance can return to its original appearance. without any scars or deformities.

By the way, dolphins also there is no bleeding. For example, a person with a serious open injury can die only due to blood loss. When injured, the dolphin directs the blood flow in the right direction, just as it does when diving, which prevents it from bleeding to death.

Natural pain relievers of dolphins

Dolphins don't seem to care about such inconveniences as physical pain . After they suffer serious injuries that would immobilize anyone Living being on the planet, they can safely continue to play, swim and even eat normally.

With open wounds in dolphins, nerve endings are not exposed, which causes severe pain. This does not mean that they do not experience pain at all, they are also very sensitive, just like us.

However, when seriously injured, dolphins simply know how to... ignore her. It is believed that their body is capable of producing special painkillers, such as morphine, which, however, do not cause any addiction.

Dolphins developed such abilities during evolution, which allowed them to survive in dangerous conditions. For example, if a predator is chasing you, it is better not to show him that you are injured or that you are in pain. Then you have more chances to survive and not to attract attention to yourself as weak and helpless.

Dolphins and infections

Having open wounds on their bodies, dolphins are able to swim in water infested with bacteria, and at the same time don't get any infections. It looks like they are not even afraid of wounds from the dirty teeth of sharks. A person in this situation would immediately die from blood poisoning within a few days. However, at least something for the dolphins!

It turns out that no infections attach to dolphins. It is known that the immune system of these animals is similar to ours, but how then do they manage to ward off all the infection?

In fact, no one can say for sure where dolphins have such miraculous abilities. There is an assumption that dolphins receive a kind of antibiotics from plankton and algae.

The chemicals these microscopic creatures produce have been discovered in subcutaneous fat of dolphins. If the fat layer is damaged by injury, antibacterial substances are released.

How do dolphins manages to accumulate these life-saving substances under the skin, and not process them during metabolism, remains a mystery to scientists.

Dolphins are the best swimmers

In 1936, British zoologist Sir James Gray I was amazed at how fast dolphins can swim. He began to study their anatomy in great detail and found out that the skin of dolphins should have magical properties , which would prevent friction, only then would they be able to develop such speed. This idea was called "Grey's paradox" and until 2008, scientists could not solve it.

Gray was partly right: dolphins do have anti-friction features. However, Gray underestimated the muscle strength of dolphins, which is 5 times greater than the muscle strength of the dolphins himself. strong man on the planet. Moreover, dolphins also know how to use their energy very efficiently.

A person can use only 4 percent of their energy to move in water. Dolphins, in turn, transform 80 percent of energy in traction, making them the most efficient swimmers.

Magnetic sense of dolphins

Why do dolphins and whales sometimes washed ashore? This mystery has worried the minds of scientists long years. Various theories have been proposed: strange diseases, pollution environment or testing military equipment. However, research has not supported any of these theories.

Cases of animals washing ashore have been recorded for many hundreds of years, but only recently have scientists begun to guess why main reason : It turns out that it’s all about the Sun and the magnetic field of our planet.

The brains of dolphins and whales have special magnetic crystals, which allow them to sense the Earth's magnetic field. With the help of such a built-in GPS system, they can move across the vast expanses of the ocean, without much difficulty finding their way around.

One group of researchers mapped east coast USA, where observed mass deaths of dolphins. As it turned out, these areas coincided with places where magnetic rocks reduced the levels of the planet's magnetic field.

Thus, a dolphin or whale that navigates by magnetic field, could just "not to notice" shore and ended up on dry land.

Scientists have also found that when the Sun emits too much radiation, it affects the magnetic senses marine mammals and also confuses them. Most animals wash ashore when solar activity is strongest. This may also explain why rescued animals return to shore again.

Electroreception of dolphins

The echolocators in dolphins' bodies are truly incredible. Amazes their ability sense objects at a distance. Animals are able to send sound signals and listen to echoes reflected from objects.

If we add to this rare feeling the other abilities of dolphins discussed above, we can conclude that dolphins really have fantastic feelings and abilities what distinguishes them from other living beings.

However, Mother Nature endowed them with something else: electroreception - the ability to feel electrical impulses, sent by other living beings.

Guyanese dolphins live off the coast South America and look similar to bottlenose dolphins. Researchers have discovered special indentations on their beaks, which are able to recognize electrical impulses sent by fish muscles.

A similar feature is found in animals such as platypuses. They use it to find fish hiding in the mud. Echolocation allows dolphins to determine the position of objects in space, but it not particularly effective at close range, so electroreception comes into play.