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Dolphins in UK Waters

Bottlenose Dolphin - Dolphins use sound to 'see' and talk underwater.
Bottlenose Dolphin - Dolphins use sound to 'see' and talk underwater.
Credit: Wikimedia Commons. Click here for the license

Bottlenose dolphins, which you can see in places like the Moray Firth in Scotland or Cardigan Bay in Wales, live in a world of sound.

They 'click' and 'whistle' to each other. These vibrations travel through the water, which is a liquid medium.

💡 Fun Facts

  • Sound travels more than four times faster through water than through air. This allows dolphins to communicate over huge distances.
  • Dolphins also use sound to 'see' in murky water. They send out high-pitched clicks (echolocation) and listen for the echoes bouncing off fish, which tells them where their dinner is.
  • In outer space, there is no air (it's a vacuum). With no medium for the vibrations to travel through, sound can't travel at all. It is completely silent!