Dolphins around the World

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Bottlenose Dolphins
Dusky Dolphins
Steno (rough toothed) Dolphins
Indo-Pacific Humpback Dolphins
Common Dolphins
Spinner Dolphins
Pilot Whales
Orcas
Spotted dolphins
Pink Dolphins

Please click on any of the above to go directly to that page

References:
Whales, Dolphins and Porpoises (Weldon Owen Publishing)
Whales & Dolphins of Kaikoura, New Zealand (Barbara Todd)
Whales & Dolphins of Western Australia (CALM)
All excellent reference material

Bottlenose Dolphins

 

Found worldwide in temperate and tropical waters, usually in coastal areas, but also mid ocean. They are often seen inshore in estuaries, even entering rivers, and an offshore form is found in the open ocean. Offshore bottlenose dolphins are sometimes seen with other dolphin species, and whales.

Bottlenose dolphins are perhaps the best known of all dolphin species.
The famous dolphins at Monkey Mia in Western Australia are bottlenose dolphins.

At Monkey Mia some of the wild bottlenose dolphins come in regularly to interact with humans in the shallows. A ranger supervises at all times.

  Monkey Mia

Bottlenose dolphins are very variable in size, depending where they are found, and can grow to a maximum of 4m. They range between 2m to 4m, with average size being approximately 3m.

Bottlenose dolphins are usually dark-med grey on top, fading to a pinkish white belly.


 

They are the largest of the beaked dolphins and have a short stout beak marked with a crease where it meets the forehead. They live in a defined home range in small sub-groups, which can vary in individuals from time to time. They are mostly found in small schools of up to 30, and occasionally join up to number to several hundred. They are fairly active swimmers, occasionally leaping wildly from the water, and frequently seen riding the bow waves of boats or the waves in the surf zone.

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