bottlenose dolphin

Fast Facts

Common Name: dolphin

Class: Mammalia

Order: Cetacea

Family: Delphinidae

Genus species: Tursiops truncatus

Size: Adults average 2.5-3 m (8-10 ft.). Males may be slightly larger than females.

Weight: Adults weigh between 136-295 kg (300-650 lb.).

Social behavior: Bottlenose dolphins live in groups called pods. The size of a pod varies from about 2 to 15 individuals. Several pods may join temporarily to form larger groups called herds or aggregations. Up to several hundred animals have been observed traveling in one herd.

Diet: Dolphins are active predators and eat a wide variety of fishes, squids, and crustaceans such as shrimps . The foods available to a dolphin vary with its geographical location.

Status: Bottlenose dolphins are protected in U.S. waters by the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972.

Fun Facts

1. Dolphins frequently ride the bow wake or the stern wake of boats. They have been seen jumping as high as 4.9 m (16 ft.) up from the surface of the water and landing on their backs or sides, in a behavior called a breach.

2. Both young and old dolphins chase one another, carry objects around, toss seaweed to one another, and use objects to invite each other to interact. Such activity may be practice for catching food.

3. Bottlenose dolphins often cooperate when hunting and catching fish. In open waters, a dolphin pod sometimes encircles a large school of fish and herds them into a tight ball for easy feeding. Then the dolphins take turns charging through the school to feed. Occasionally dolphins will herd fish to shallow water where they are easy prey.

4. Bottlenose dolphins generally do not need to dive very deeply to catch food. Depending on habitat, most bottlenose dolphins regularly dive to depths of 3 to 45.7 m (10-150 ft.). They are, however, capable of diving to some depth. Under experimental conditions, a trained dolphin dove 547 m (1,795 ft.).

 

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