Irrawaddy Dolphin: a two-minute wildlife lesson

Dolphins · day 1 of 7

Five facts

1. This dolphin can spit jets of water as far as 1.5 m. The trick is known to help it round up fish before a meal.
2. In Myanmar, fishers drum on their canoes to call the dolphins, which herd fish toward the nets and get a share of the catch.
3. Its blowhole is shaped like a U, sits left of centre and opens toward the front. No other dolphin has one like it.
4. With its round head and almost no beak, it looks a lot like a beluga. Yet its closest relative is the killer whale.
5. Some groups live far up freshwater rivers such as the Ganges and the Mekong. It is named after the Ayeyarwady River.

The quiz

1. How far can an Irrawaddy dolphin squirt a jet of water?

• Up to 6 m
• Up to 1.5 m (correct)
• Up to 20 m
• Up to 40 m

Its water jets can reach up to 1.5 m.

2. How do these dolphins help fishers in Myanmar's Ayeyarwady River?

• They pull the canoes upstream
• They guard the boats at night
• They herd fish toward the nets (correct)
• They untangle torn nets

Called by drumming, they drive fish toward the fishers' nets.

3. What is special about this dolphin's blowhole?

• It is U-shaped and sits left of centre (correct)
• It is round and right in the middle
• It is on the right and faces the tail
• It has two openings side by side

Its U-shaped blowhole is left of the midline and opens forward.

4. Which animal is the Irrawaddy dolphin most closely related to?

• The beluga
• The narwhal
• The sperm whale
• The killer whale (correct)

It looks like a beluga, but its closest relative is the killer whale.

5. Which river gave this dolphin its name?

• The Ganges
• The Ayeyarwady (correct)
• The Mekong
• The Amazon

It takes its name from the Ayeyarwady River.

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