A Safe Home for Whales and Dolphins

What makes a safe home?

Everyone deserves a safe home to live in, whatever that home looks like. We all live in different kinds of homes, but it is important that they are safe for you and your families. Think about how it would affect you if you lived somewhere that wasn’t safe. How might that make you feel and how could it have an impact on your life? See if some of the following words can help you: Dangerworryhappy lucky ill carepleased protectedsupport unhappyfrightenedlonelyhealthy help

How do you think these images link to the pictures we looked at earlier? Image © Alec MitchellImage © Ingrid N Visser Image © Lucy Molleson Image © WDC/SarahDolman Image © WDC/Rob Lott

What kind of home do you think these creatures need? Image © WDC/Charlie PhillipsImage © WDC/Rob Lott

A safe home for whales and dolphins There are parts of the sea or ocean that are protected to help the environment and the creatures that live there. They are called Marine Protected Areas, or MPAs for short. Rules are in place to tell people what they can and can't do in these areas. The more we learn about whales and dolphins, the more we realise that their homes need as much care as the homes of animals on land. Whales and dolphins travel long distances but some areas are special to them, such as where they come to feed and have their babies.

Some key questions to think about Why is it our job to look after whales and dolphins? Whales and dolphins move around a lot doing all sorts of different things. Which areas of their home (the ocean/sea) do you think are most important to protect? If humans protected these areas, how would this help the whales and dolphins?

What do you think these pictures tell us? Think about what links them together. Image © Mark Votier Image © WDC/Rob Lott Image © WDC/Dr Mike Bossley Image © WDC/Charlie Phillips Image © Andrew Sutton

Whales and dolphins are under threat from all of the things shown on the previous slide. What do you think we can do to help? Try coming up with a list of instructions, telling people what they should/shouldn’t do, then share your ideas with the rest of the class. e.g. Litter in the ocean Never throw rubbish anywhere but in a bin; it can find its way to the sea even from far inland Join in with campaigns to reduce the use of free plastic bags in supermarkets Encourage friends and family to take reusable bags with them when they go shopping

Which dolphins and whales are under threat around British waters? Bottlenose dolphin Common dolphinHarbour porpoise Orca Image © Ingrid N Visser Image © WDC/Charlie Phillips Image © Ingrid N Visser

Harbour porpoise The harbour porpoise is the smallest whale, dolphin or porpoise found in Europe. They grow to about 1.5 m long and weights about 60kg (about the same as a small adult human). They can live up to 23 years of age, but don’t often live more than 12. They like shallow waters near the coast best. They like being with other harbour porpoises and often travel in groups, but they are very shy around boats. Countries in Europe should have laws that protect harbour porpoises.

Bottlenose dolphin Bottlenose dolphins are mammals. They breathe air, the mums feed their babies with milk, they give birth to live young and the baby dolphins have very fine hair on their snout which falls out soon after birth. Bottlenose dolphins can dive down to 200 metres or so. They can stay under the surface of the water for up to 15 minutes before they need to come up for air. They love having friends and family nearby and they work in groups to help each other catch food. They can grow up to 3.8 metres long, which is the length of a car! Some of the world’s biggest bottlenose dolphins live off the coast of Scotland.

Using the internet, see what fun facts you can find out about a species such as bottlenose dolphins or harbour porpoises! Try creating an information poster about one of the whales or dolphins. See if you can come up with a word cloud which contains words you think are important about whales and dolphins.

It is our responsibility to ensure these dolphins and whales have a safe ‘home’ they can live in, free from danger. You can play a vital part in this. Now you have found out about why a safe environment is so important and what dangers these creatures face, you can help to protect them too. Create what you think a safe home for one of these species looks like using the drawing template provided and send it back to Whale and Dolphin Conservation!