Do Dolphins Fart?

Yes, dolphins like humans and other animals fart or pass gas.

In fact farting is a trait that is common among all mammals.

By passing gas dolphins, humans and other animals are able to release trapped air and toxic fumes that have accumulated in their stomach.

The air that eventually builds up into the gas that we as humans and other animals expel from our bodies comes from two main sources.

The first comes from oxygen that we breathe in either while inhaling and exhaling (breathing), while were eating food or when we drink water.

The second comes from the foods dolphins and other types of animals eat.

In this situation the food that is eaten gets broken down in the digestive system by enzymes, stomach acids and bacteria that are found in the stomach.

These digestive chemicals are extremely important for allowing us and other animals to break down complex foods into nutrients that the body can utilize and manage more effectively and without them we would become malnourished and unable to absorb the important parts of our food that keep us energized, healthy, young and able to repair our damaged tissue and muscle.

As we continue to consume food the products we eat continue to be broken down in our digestive system causing us to develop gas which we eventually need to release in order to prevent digestive issues, cramping and other potential problems.

In order to get rid of the accumulated gases that build up in our stomach we (and our dolphin friends) need to have a way of expelling the gas and the way this is done is by releasing the gas through either the mouth which is commonly referred to as burping or through the anal tract which is commonly referred to as farting or passing gas.

The gases that are expelled when an animal passes gas or farts are composed mostly of hydrogen, carbon dioxide, and methane.

The reason some gasses have a much stronger odor than others has to do with the foods involved in the process.

Certain foods can release terrible odors while other foods may not produce any odor at all when expelled from the body and in certain circumstances certain combinations of food may cause us to become gassy, irritated and/or smelly.

This is dependent upon the chemicals or foods that are mixed together and our bodies reaction to those foods as some individuals may have allergic reactions to certain foods/chemicals that others do not.

From some of the research that has been gathered and from statements biologists have made about dolphins passing gas is, “yes dolphins do fart and it usually stinks when they pass gas”.

Unlike humans that sometimes have a noisy fart when they pass gas a dolphins fart is often suppressed by the water making it silent or much harder to detect by sound when compared to the sound land based animals make when they fart.

A dolphin’s fart can usually be detected by the bubbles or clouds that can be seen rising to the surface of the water when a dolphin passes gas.

Those most likely to witness dolphins farting are likely to be marine biologists, dolphin trainers and researchers involved in monitoring, training and researching dolphins and by people who attend dolphin shows at the aquarium.

In some cases tourists and dolphin watchers may also experience dolphins passing gas.

Unfortunately not much research has been gathered on this topic and the information that does exist is fairly limited.