Peaceful, intelligent, friendly beings that swim as if they owned the sea, dolphins have long evoked our affection and fascination, but we know little about them.

Ultimate Guide takes a fresh look at the world of the dolphins and meets up with scientists who are deepening our understanding of them. With cutting-edge computer animation, Ultimate Guide shows what happened fifty million years ago, when a wolf-like mammal took to foraging in swamps and estuaries: It lost its back legs and its fur; its nostrils fused and became a blowhole; its front legs turned into flippers; and it learned to swim with less effort than any fish.

Over eons, in short, these creatures evolved into the family of dolphins, porpoises, and killer whales.