Siegfried & Roy's Secret Garden & Dolphin Habitat : Dolphin Info

	Dolphins are mammals.

	The dolphins at The Mirage are Atlantic bottlenose dolphins.

	Dolphins have smooth skin that feels like a wet inner tube.

	The bottlenose dolphin can hold its breath up to 7 minutes but will typically breathe 2 - 3 times per minute.

	Bottlenose dolphins rest/sleep for short periods of 2 - 5 minutes at a time. Scientists believe they rest half of their brain at a time. Therefore, you may see them resting with one eye open and one closed.

	Dolphins are very social animals, yet their social groups are flexible and fluid, not static. It is not uncommon for individual animals to move between social groupings or pods.

	The bottlenose dolphins at The Mirage eat between 15 and 25 pounds of fish and squid throughout the day.

	Dolphins don't do tricks. Their jumps, spins, flips and tail walks are extensions of their natural behavior.

	Bottlenose dolphins can swim at speeds up to 22 miles per hour for short spurts.

A female dolphin is giving birth. Notice the calf's tail flukes. (Left, top)

A calf nurses from the mammary gland of its mother. (Left, bottom)

Mother and calf can often be seen swimming side by side.

Dolphins are born with whiskers that fall out shortly after birth and are left with tiny hair follicles, remnants of their life on land.