Indo-Pacific Humpback Dolphin: a two-minute wildlife lesson

Dolphins · day 3 of 7

Five facts

1. Some adults are bright pink. The colour is not a pigment: it comes from extra blood vessels that help them handle heat.
2. Calves are born dark grey or black and about 1 m long. As they grow up, their skin turns lighter, through a mottled grey.
3. Its eyes bulge out a little. They let it see clearly both underwater and up in the air.
4. Calves have smaller lungs than grown-ups, so they pop up for air twice as often.
5. Mum keeps her calf close until it can catch food by itself, which usually happens at 3 to 4 years old.

The quiz

1. What makes some adult humpback dolphins pink?

• A pink pigment in the skin
• Blood vessels near the skin (correct)
• Eating pink shrimp
• Sunburn

The pink comes from blood vessels, not from a pigment.

2. What colour are newborn calves?

• Bright pink
• Pure white
• Dark grey or black (correct)
• Pale yellow

Newborns are dark grey or black, then turn paler as they grow.

3. What do its bulging eyes let it do?

• See clearly in air and in water (correct)
• See only underwater
• See only above the water
• Glow in the dark

Its protruding eyes see clearly in both air and water.

4. How often do calves come up to breathe compared with adults?

• Half as often
• Just as often
• Ten times as often
• Twice as often (correct)

With smaller lungs, calves surface twice as often as adults.

5. Until about what age does a calf stay with its mother?

• 2 weeks
• 3 to 4 years (correct)
• 6 months
• 15 years

The mother stays until the calf can feed itself, usually at 3 to 4 years.

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