When is National Dolphin Day?
National Dolphin Day falls on April 14th.
What is National Dolphin Day?
Flipper’s smile charmed us in the ‘60s, and dolphins still fascinate us as social and playful creatures. As human as dolphins seem though, there’s a dark side to the dolphin industry. National Dolphin Day raises awareness about dolphin hunting and their mistreatment in captivity.
The most iconic dolphin image has to be their streamlined leaps, called porpoising. What’s the purpose of porpoising? Biologists suggest several reasons, like parasite removal and energy conservation while travelling.
Dolphins are social creatures. Their young stay with mothers sometimes as long as eight years after birth. Dolphins form communities called pods with as many as a thousand dolphins. While chasing food, different pods sometimes unite into a superpod thousands strong.
They’re also a lucrative business. The dolphin industry rounds up hundreds of dolphins every year. While a dolphin might only sell for $600 as meat, dolphins sold to dolphinariums can be sold for upwards of $100,000. Dolphin hunters use boats to drive dolphins into coves where they can be captured, but the process results in many dolphins beaching and dying unnecessarily.
National Dolphin Day advocates for bans on drive hunting and promotes more benevolent treatment of these beautiful creatures.
Fun facts about National Dolphin Day!
- The most common species is the Bottlenose dolphin, but there are 39 other dolphin species.
- Dolphin don’t chew their food. They use their 100 teeth like fish hooks to snag food and then swallow it whole.
- Killer whales are actually dolphins.
- Dolphins sometimes naturally develop a form of Type II diabetes.
How to celebrate National Dolphin Day:
- Educate yourself on dolphin capture and captivity. Research drive hunting and the treatment of dolphins after capture. Throw a watch party with a documentary like The Cove or Blackfish.
- Donate, or start a fundraiser to support international campaigns against dolphin hunting.
What’s the hashtag for National Dolphin Day?
Use #NationalDolphinDay on social media to spread the word about dolphin treatment.