Guest guest Posted October 31, 2003 Report Share Posted October 31, 2003 Hi everyone, How I love nature, read this article about the dolphins, incredible how everything works!! Take care, Sandra Baby Dolphins Swept Along in Mother's Slipstream ------ UK: October 31, 2003 LONDON - Young dolphins have long baffled scientists by seeming to swim fast enough to keep up with their mothers, but according to new research they are sucked along in a slipstream. A dolphin calf will spend up to three years at its mother's side. An aerospace engineer who studied the mammals in San Diego found that calves position themselves between 10 to 30 cm (4-12 inches) away from their mother's body and align the midpoint of their bodies with her tail. The calves swim so close to their mothers that they get sucked along, Professor Daniel Weihs of Technion, the Israel Institute of Technology, told New Scientist magazine. As the mother swims through the ocean, she shifts the water in front of her, creating a slipstream that flows around the calf. The pressure of this water is much less than that of the static ocean, so the calf encounters 65 percent less resistance, his research found. The pressure difference creates a slipstream binding the calf to its mother as she swims at speeds of up to five knots. The pressure is so strong that childless females have been known to snatch other females' calves by swimming faster than them and sucking their babies away. The process is known as bolting, Professor Weihs told Reuters, and mothers often try to recover their young by the same means. REUTERS NEWS SERVICE Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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