travel_exploreDiscovery · Ocean animals

🐙 Ocean animals

How do fish breathe underwater? Simple, true ocean animals facts for young children, each with a fun fact, a tiny activity and a question to talk about together.

Tap a question to reveal the answer, share the fun fact, try the tiny activity, then talk about it together.

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How do fish breathe underwater? Revealexpand_more

Fish have gills, feathery parts on the sides of their head. As water flows over the gills, they pull out the tiny bit of oxygen mixed into the water, the same gas we take from the air. That is why a fish can breathe in the sea but not on dry land.

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Talk about itWould you rather breathe underwater like a fish or fly like a bird?

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Did you know?Some fish, like mudskippers, can gulp air and hop around on land for a while before heading back to the water.

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Try itTake a slow breath and feel the air fill your chest. A fish does the same job with water rushing over its gills.

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🐙🐋How do whales hold their breath for so long?🐬How do dolphins sleep without drowning?🐙Why is the octopus so clever?

🤖Still curious?How do dolphins and whales breathe if they live in the sea?arrow_forward

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How do whales hold their breath for so long? Revealexpand_more

A whale is not a fish, it breathes air like we do, but it can hold one breath for a very long time. It stores extra oxygen in its blood and muscles and slows its heart right down, so a single breath lasts far longer than ours ever could.

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Talk about itWhat do you think a whale sees on a deep, dark dive?

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Did you know?A sperm whale can stay underwater for around an hour on just one breath.

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Try itTake a big breath and count slowly to ten before you let it go. Now imagine holding it for a whole hour.

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🐙🐟How do fish breathe underwater?🐬How do dolphins sleep without drowning?🧭How do birds find their way over such long trips?

🤖Still curious?Why do whales come up and spray water into the air?arrow_forward

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How do dolphins sleep without drowning? Revealexpand_more

Dolphins have to remember to come up for air, even at night, so they never fall fully asleep. Instead, one half of their brain rests while the other half stays awake to breathe and watch for danger, and then the two halves swap over.

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Talk about itIf half of your brain could stay awake, what would you want it to keep doing?

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Did you know?A resting dolphin often keeps one eye open, the eye linked to the half of the brain that is still awake.

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Try itPat your head with one hand and rub your tummy with the other. Doing two things at once is a little like a dolphin's split sleep.

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🐙🐋How do whales hold their breath for so long?🐙Why is the octopus so clever?😴Why do we need to sleep?

🤖Still curious?Do any other animals sleep with half their brain awake?arrow_forward

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Why is the octopus so clever? Revealexpand_more

An octopus has a big brain for its size and clever arms that can taste and feel as they move. It can open jars, squeeze through tiny gaps and even remember which people are kind to it, all without a single bone to slow it down.

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Talk about itIf you had eight arms, what would you do with all of them at the same time?

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Did you know?An octopus has three hearts and blue blood, and most of its brain cells are spread out along its eight arms.

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Try itPick up a small toy using only two fingers, then imagine doing eight different things at once like an octopus.

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🐙🐟How do fish breathe underwater?🦎How does a chameleon change colour?🐬How do dolphins sleep without drowning?

🤖Still curious?How does an octopus change colour to hide?arrow_forward

🐙 Ocean animals

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