CHRISTMAS - DO DOLPHINS CELEBRATE THE FESTIVE SEASON?   by Alan Williams

CHRISTMAS - DO DOLPHINS CELEBRATE THE FESTIVE SEASON?

Everyone knows that Christmas is a time to celebrate. It's a time to be with friends and family, to share the joy of life and have some fun. But what do dolphins do at Christmas time? Do they celebrate the festive season?

To the familiar sound of sleigh bells jingling, the idyllic image surrounding Christmas time is of snow falling gracefully from the sky, creating a beautiful white blanket across a picturesque landscape. It is the vibrant scene of children playing on sledges with snowballs flying in all directions, and of dinner being served up piping hot onto a well laid table that overflows with laughter. But somewhere out there, in the bay, in the far flung corners of the world... what exactly are dolphins up to over the festive season? Do they have fun?

Dolphins are closely related to Whales and Porpoises, and vary in size from 1.2 m (4 ft) to 9.5m (30 ft) long. They can weigh as much as 10 tonnes. Mainly found in shallower seas off continental shelves they are carnivores, mostly eating fish and squid. Dolphins evolved about ten million years ago and live all over the world, from Florida to San Francisco, to Hawaii and Australia. About 240 bottlenose dolphins frequent Cardigan Bay, which is located just off the coast of West Wales, in the UK.

Just like humans, dolphins have a family unit. The father is called a bull. The mother is called a cow. And the young are called calves. They communicate with each other by whistling. Calves learn to whistle from their mothers. Scientists believe that the dolphins that frequent Cardigan Bay use a variety of whistles and clicks and barks and groans that are unique. In fact, they reckon the dolphins are talking in a dialect that is unique to Wales.

Even though bottlenose dolphins are capable of surviving on their own, they regularly live in groups of about 10 to 30. These are called pods. Sometimes they merge with other pods to create a 1,000 strong super pod. Although dolphins can work alone, they enjoy working together as a team. They also love to play. They'll spend hours tossing a piece of seaweed around. And there's nothing quite like a playful fight with other dolphins - just for fun, of course. Dolphins can often be found riding waves, surfing coastal swells and racing alongside boats, and, ducking and diving in-between catamarans. They also love to swim with humans and show off their incredible acrobatic tricks. They have even been known to save the lives of humans in peril out at sea.

So dolphins do have lots of fun. In fact, humans could learn a great deal from dolphins. With their love of fun and unconditional instinct to help others in their hour of need, it could be said that dolphins enjoy the true spirit of Christmas all year round.

Alan Williams is the author of 'Archy The Flying Dolphin & The Vampire's Curse'. It is the first in a series of children's fantasy adventures books. To find out more, visit: http://www.archytheflyingdolphin.com