Mara XXX

September 22, 2014

5 AP Inthavong
3rd Draft

Dolphins Vs. Sharks

According to recent research, the planet is composed of 75% water and oceans
represent around 90% of this water. Men have always been interested in aquatic life; they
have explored especially this environment looking for some answers about two specific
animals: dolphins and sharks. These species have always been a mystery to humans and
now, due to technology, they have more information about differences and similarities
between these animals. After many years of investigation, today we can name three basic
areas: physical characteristics, habits and location, which help to establish a comparison
between dolphins and sharks and finally we could have a lot information about these
amazing animals.
Everybody knows that both, dolphins and sharks, are species that live in the oceans
and even at first sight, they could look physically similar because most of them are really
big, they have fins, the color of their skin is grey and they are very fast. Because of that,
many people think that they are different kind of fish, but thats not right. In fact, dolphins
are mammals, which means that they are warm blooded animals and their reproductive
system is like humans while sharks are actually fish with cold blood and their reproductive
system is like fish, that is, by eggs. In spite of being animals morphologically similar and
with the same color, the dolphin`s skin is soft and delicate and the tail fin is used in a
different way; that is, the dolphins have to move their tail fin up and down to swim because

their tail fin is horizontal. On the other hand, sharks, which have a vertical tail fin, have to
move it side to side to be able to swim and their skin is rough and has scales. In addition,
both species have big and strong jaws with a lot of teeth which they use to catch their prey
and eat.
Feeding is an important habit to consider because there are remarkable differences
in the type of food that they normally eat. For example, dolphins only eat some fish and
mollusks, and crustaceans like shrimp and crabs and also can eat some seaweed. In
contrast, sharks frequently eat red meat animals such as seals, birds and turtles and its well
known that even sharks can eat human flesh. Sharks are consider very dangerous and
deadly because they have an aggressive behavior and they attack by instinct following their
sense of smell. Otherwise, it has been found that dolphins are very smart animals, which
have a complex system of communication between them and even now, humans are able to
use a language of sounds that let them interact together; this is possible because dolphins
have an amazing sense of hearing and they have a friendly smart behavior.
After talking about physical characteristics and habits, its important to refer to the
location where these species usually are. Their natural environment is the seawater but
there are many kinds of sharks and dolphins and depending on what type they are, they
could be in different places around the world. Generally, sharks have to live in cold waters
and they move looking for food or coldest waters depending on the time of the year. Certain
places are really famous because you can find a lot of sharks there and we could mention
some of them: Hawaii, Australia, Thailand and African coasts. On the contrary, dolphins
can live in different types of waters and they can adapt their body temperature according to

this and also, they can live in captivity while sharks cant. Thats the reason why dolphins
can be found around the world.
In conclusion, there are a lot of similarities between dolphins and sharks but also
there are many differences, thats why its important to make a deep comparison of the
aspects that enable us to know all the information about their physical characteristics, habits
and location. Now, you are able to understand why many times these species are not
compatible and even why they are fighting in their natural habitat. Obviously, it has been
easier to find more information about dolphins because they are more friendly unlike
sharks, who are dangerous and even lethal, but the researchers dont stop and day after day,
men make an effort to know more about what happens under the sea, especially with these
species.