• Question: why do dolphins use echolocation if they can see fine?

    Asked by to Edward, Ian, Mathew, Naomi, sakshisharda on 23 Jun 2014. This question was also asked by .
    • Photo: Sakshi Sharda

      Sakshi Sharda answered on 23 Jun 2014:

      Hi katy8888

      dolphins use echolaction even when they can see very well. This is so that they can ‘see’ objects at longer distances estimating their shape and size in this manner, to be able to predict if that is harmful or not. Sometimes the water is murky and eyesight has limited value in such times. Even at night times or while swimming in deep waters when the penetration of sunlight is very limited, echolocation serves as an important mechanism.

    • Photo: Ian Stephenson

      Ian Stephenson answered on 23 Jun 2014:

      It all comes in handy!

      Probably for the same reasons we can hear, even though we can see perfectly well. We use all our senses, and merge the results to make a model of the world. Every sense contributes something to that picture, and the more we can add in, the better the model

    • Photo: Naomi Osborne

      Naomi Osborne answered on 23 Jun 2014:

      Just like Sakshi has mentioned, dolphins have evolved to use echolation to help them detect danger when their eyes fail in murky water – it helps them survive, just how our ears help us when we can’t see in the dark 🙂

Comments