Dolphins

These aquatic mammals are in for the long haul! The Bottlenose Dolphin is known to live to be an average of 40 years old in the wild and in captivity. Some dolphins have even been known to live 60 years or more.

Bottlenose Dolphins are active predators that prey upon a variety of sea life such as various types of fish, squid, crab, shrimp, and other crustaceans. Food may be obtained individually, or individuals may form a group to hunt large schools of fish.

Different dolphins prefer different ecosystems. For instance, the majority of coastal Bottlenose populations choose to live among bays, seagrass beds, estuaries, and sometimes beaches. This type of Bottlenose is also known for sometimes being territorial over its habitats. On the other hand, the population of Bottlenose that prefers the ocean and deep waters are less territorial and more nomadic in choosing their habitat. Inland populations mostly prefer warmer, more shallow waters, while oceanic populations of the Bottlenose are happy in deeper waters. These aquatic mammals have even been known to inhabit rivers depending on resources available, water depth, temperature, and what sediment types are present.

This species is the most prevalent type of dolphin found in the U.S. coastal waters from Cape Cod through the Gulf of Mexico. They are also frequently found in the Pacific Ocean from northern Japan to Australia, from Southern California to Chile, and as far west as the Islands of Hawaii.

On the other side of the United States in the Atlantic Ocean, Bottlenose Dolphins are observed from Nova Scotia to Patagonia as well as from Norway to the Southern tip of Africa.

These species of dolphins are also present in the Black and Mediterranean Seas when conditions are favorable.

Similar to most dolphin species, inland, also referred to as coastal, Bottlenose Dolphins are known to form small groups of 20 or less members. The offshore populations, however, can be known to form herds of over 100 dolphins that travel in migratory patterns.

1. Young Bottlenose Dolphins learn how to survive on their own by mirroring their mother’s every move.



2. Each Bottlenose Dolphin develops a whistle unique to them that can be used to alert others of their condition, location and identity.



3. Using chromosome banding techniques, scientists have been able to determine familial relationships among groups of Bottlenose Dolphins.



4. The maximum length and weight reported of a Bottlenose Dolphin in the wild was from an individual in the Eastern North Atlantic that measured 13.5 feet and 1,400 pounds!