Dolphins are believed to imitate human speech by means of echolocation. (Encyclopedia Americana 262). Echolocation is emittance of sounds in the form of short pulses, called clicks, and listening for return echoes. (Carwardine 131). The process of echolocation is believed to work like this: Sound is produced internally. The “brain” focuses this sound into a beam. Reflected echoes carrying information about targets are received at the “acoustic window” area of the dolphins’ lower jaw. The sound is then transmitted by the fatty organ in the lower jaw to the middle ear and then to the brain for processing and interpretation. (Carwardine 133)

In spotted dolphins, each one is believed to have its own identification signal, or a “signature whistle.” (Cox 123)

Much of a dolphin's life revolves around finding and eating food. This is done by a highly developed jaw and its sonar system. Dolphins feed mainly on schools of prey. It is easier to catch food as a group than individually and there is always more food than necessary to feed an individual dolphin. Most dolphins have developed hunting groups. They travel in large groups searching for food. While searching, they travel in tight pods, using sound to stay in contact and communicate over large distances. Once dolphins locate a school of fish, they spread out, while some dive down to the prey to herd it to the surface by swimming around and under the prey. The water surface acts as a wall because most fish will not surface above the water. Then the dolphins feed on the school of prey. (Donoghue and Wheeler 35-36).

Dolphins were first put on public display in the 1860’s in London’s Westminster Aquarium. (Donoghue and Wheeler 87). During the 1970’s, the number of captive facilities increased dramatically throughout North America, Europe, Japan, and parts of Southeast Asia. Captive animals are often trained to “kiss” their trainers, fetch and play with balls, jump through hoops, and leap and spin for paying audiences. Many captive marine animals are kept for research purposes, many for the military.

The different types of dolphins tend to space themselves apart in both geography and time. Bottlenoses tend to spend more time in shallower water than duskies and although they generally feed in the same area they do so at different times of the day. Both species do not mix regularly, yet they both interact with other sea life, such as whales and seals. (Carwardine 94). Similar species of dolphins avoid direct competition by geographical separation. Two species of dolphins that are similar in appearance, feeding patterns, and sociability, may live in two completely different areas and never cross paths. This is the case with long finned and short finned dolphins. (Carwardine 95).

Because of the ability of dolphins to learn and perform complex tasks in captivity, their continuous communications with one another, and their ability, through training, to approximate the sounds of a few human words, some investigators have suggested that the animals might be capable of learning a true language and communicating with humans. Most authorities, however, agree that although the dolphin's problem-solving abilities put the animal on an intelligence level close to that of primates, no evidence exists that dolphin communications approach the complexity of a true language. (Encarta Online).

The fact that dolphins exhibit “altruistic” behavior is considered complex because ultimately the goals of male and female dolphins differ. Males compete for access to breeding females and try to convince the females they are the best choice for mating. Females invest in insuring that their young survive and get a good start to life. (Carwardine 153).

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