Bottlenose Dolphin Images

Bottlenose Dolphin Images, Facts and Information:

Tursiops truncatus

• Bottlenose Dolphins are medium-sized marine mammals with streamlined bodies, short thick beaks, and curved dorsal fins. Adults typically range from 6 to 13 feet in length and can weigh between 300 and 1,400 pounds. Their skin is smooth and gray, with lighter coloring on the underside.
• Bottlenose Dolphins inhabit warm and temperate oceans worldwide, occurring in both coastal and offshore waters. They are common along shorelines, bays, estuaries, and continental shelves, and often venture into deeper waters depending on prey availability.
• Bottlenose Dolphins are carnivorous and feed primarily on fish and squid, sometimes consuming crustaceans or other small marine animals. They use echolocation to locate prey and often hunt cooperatively in coordinated groups.
• Female Bottlenose Dolphins give birth to a single calf after a gestation period of about 12 months. Calves nurse for over a year and remain close to their mothers for several years as they learn social and hunting behaviors.
• Bottlenose Dolphins are highly intelligent and social, living in dynamic groups called pods that vary in size from just a few individuals to several dozen.
• A group of dolphins can be called a “pod,” a “school,” or a “herd.”

I hope you enjoy viewing my Bottlenose Dolphin photos.