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 The
bottlenose dolphin has a
short and stubby beak. You’ve probably seen one in marine parks. Bottlenose
dolphins are found worldwide in mild and tropical waters. They are
most frequently seen along the shores of the U.S. The color
of the bottlenose dolphin varies. This dolphin is generally light gray on the upper part of the body and
pinkish gray on the belly.
The bottlenose dolphin has more flexibility in its neck than
other oceanic dolphins. This is
because 5 of the 7 neck vertebrae are not fused together
as in the other oceanic dolphins. There are 18-26 pairs of sharp teeth
in each side of its jaw. The dorsal fin is located near
the middle of the back. It is high and curved.
Bottlenose dolphins are 2.5-3.8 meters long. Those found off the coast
of Great Britain may weigh as much as 650 kilograms.
However, most are much smaller in other parts of the world. Males
are a lot larger than females. Bottlenose dolphins eat a wide variety of food, including fish, squid, and crustaceans. An adult bottlenose
dolphin can eat up to 8-15 kilograms of food each day.
 Males reach sexual maturity at about 10 years.
Females reach sexual maturity
at about 5-10 years. Calving can take place year-round and
the gestation period is 12 months.
Baby bottlenose dolphins stay with their mothers for 3-6 years. During
that period, they learn how to catch fish and other important tasks from their mothers.
Generally, bottlenose dolphins are still plentiful in numbers, but
they are endangered in some areas. They are often accidentally caught in fishnets and die. Also, they
are very sensitive to pollution, habitat alteration, boat collisions, and human disturbance such as boating.
Currently, bottlenose dolphins
are protected in U.S. waters by the Marine Mammal Protection Act. |
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