Dolphin Echolocation

Dolphins and some whales, besides some other animals, like bats, have this ability.

The sound travels in the form of waves and when it is bounced back by solid objects either in water or air, it is then detected by the dolphin. This bouncing is called “echo” and it is the same as the voice echo we hear in caves, but at a much precise level.

Animals with echolocation ability, are capable to detect this echo when is deflected back by a solid object.

In the case of dolphins, they emit a a beam of clicking sounds forward in the direction fo their head and receive the echo from this sounds in the lower jaw.

This sophisticated system can calculate the distance where an object is located because of the time taken by the echo to return to the dolphin. As sounds can travel quite a distance in the water, dolphins are capable to detect dangers or food which is even out of sight.

This technique is used by humans in radars or sonars where some kind of wave is emitted and the bounced back wave is detected and processed.