DJ Geribo

To continue my series to promote my EyeHelpAnimals.com website, my next animal to feature, in honor of summer and beach-goers, is the dolphin.

All whales, dolphins, and porpoises are classified as Cetacea. Under Cetacea there are suborders: baleen whales and toothed whales. Baleen whales are the largest ones, like the humpback and the blue whales. Toothed whales are orcas and dolphins, with orcas being the largest whales growing to 32 feet while dolphins average 8 or 9 feet.

Playful and highly intelligent, people love to watch them perform. I've even heard stories about how they have rescued people, or alerted others when someone's boat has capsized in the water. Why they would do this is a mystery to me - we certainly haven't done anything to earn their respect. 

As with most mammals, whether in the water or on land, human encroachment is putting marine animals in danger. Together with climate change, several species of whales, and the dolphin is part of the whale family, are critically endangered. Fishing net entanglement and ship strikes are pushing dolphins and other whales to the brink of extinction. 

The ocean is where they live - they have no place else to go. We can do our part by protecting the ocean waters and supporting organizations that are doing their best to ensure the whales and other sealife have a growing chance for survival.