|
Bottlenose dolphin can reach 6 to 13 feet in length and 300 to 1400 pounds of weight. Males are much larger than females.
|
|
Bottlenose dolphin has smooth skin that is dark grey on the back and light grey on the belly.
|
|
Bottlenose dolphin has short, stubby beak, curved mouth, sleek, conically-shaped body, curved dorsal fin, powerful tail and pointed flippers. It has 18 to 28 pairs of sharp teeth in the mouth and single blowhole on top of the head. Thick layer of blubber under the skin keeps the body temperature stable in the cold water.
|
|
Bottlenose dolphin has poor sense of smell, but excellent eyesight and well-developed sense of taste.
|
|
Bottlenose dolphin can learn plenty of things thanks to its large brain. It can be trained to detect mines and enemy divers in the water.
|
|
Bottlenose dolphin uses echolocation to find food and avoid obstacles in the water. It produces clicks and gets information about size, shape and type of objects in the water based on the reflected sound.
|
|
Bottlenose dolphin is a carnivore. Its diet is based on fish, crustaceans and squids.
|
|
Bottlenose dolphin often hunts in the group and pushes schools of fish toward areas where they can be easily caught.
|
|
Bottlenose dolphin sleeps with only one half of its brain at rest to prevent drowning.
|
|
Bottlenose dolphin lives in groups, called pods, of 10 to 15 members (or occasionally of few hundred animals). It uses whistles and squeaking sounds for communication.
|
|
Bottlenose dolphin can dive to a depth of 1770 feet and spend around 10 minutes under the water. Its maximum swimming speed is 22 miles per hour.
|
|
Bottlenose dolphin often leaps out of the water to eliminate parasites, display its strength and to entertain itself. It likes to play with other dolphins, seaweed and turtles and to ride on the waves.
|
|
Large sharks and killer whales are natural enemies of bottlenose dolphins.
|
|
Bottlenose dolphin can mate all year round. Pregnancy lasts 12 months and ends with one baby (calf). Nursing period lasts 12 to 18 months. Young bottlenose dolphin usually stays with its mother until the age of 3 to 6 years.
|
|
Bottlenose dolphin can survive up to 40 years in the wild.
|
