Dolphin Pictures

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Dolphin Photos

Bottlenose Dolphins

The Bottlenose Dolphin is the most common and well-known dolphin species. It inhabits warm and temperate seas worldwide and may be found in all but the Arctic and the Antarctic Oceans. Bottlenose Dolphins are gray, varying from dark gray at the top near the dorsal fin to very light gray and almost white at the underside. This makes them harder to see both from above and below when swimming.

Dolphin Photos

Killer Whales

The Orca, or 'killer' whale is actually not a whale at all. It's the largest member of the dolphin family. Their black bodies are marked with white patches on the underside and near the eyes. It is the second-most widely distributed mammal on Earth (after humans) and is found in all the world's oceans, from the frigid Arctic and Antarctic regions to warm, tropical seas. Orcas are highly social and generally travel in family groups.

Dolphin Photos

Irrawaddy Dolphins

This species has a large, blunt, rounded, melon-like head. Its beak is indistinct. It is similar to the beluga in appearance. The Irrawaddy Dolphin is a slow swimmer.

Dolphin Photos

Spinner Dolphins

The Spinner Dolphin is a small dolphin found in off-shore tropical waters around the world. It is famous for its acrobatic displays in which they will spin as they leap through the air. The bulk of the dolphin is dark gray, with darker patches in the tail stock, back and throat. Usually it has creamy-white patch on the belly though this varies considerably. The beak is distinctively long and thin, with a dark tip.

Dolphin Photos

Bottlenose Dolphins

A Bottlenose Dolphin belonging to a Commander Task Unit leaps out of the water in front of Sergeant Andrew Garrett while training. The dolphin helps them patrol the waters.

Dolphin Photos

Bottlenose Dolphins

Every 5-8 minutes, the dolphins have to rise to the surface to breathe through their blowhole. (However, on average, they breathe more often - several times per minute). Their sleep is very light; some scientists have suggested that the two halves of their brains take turns in sleeping and waking. It has also been suggested that they have tiny periods of microsleep.

Dolphin Photos

Blue Common Dolphins

Common dolphins travel in groups of around 10-50 in number and frequently gather into schools numbering 100 to 2000 individuals. These schools are generally very active - groups often surface, jump and splash together. Typical behavior includes breaching, tail-slapping, chin-slapping and porpoising.

Dolphin Photos

Dusky Dolphins

The Dusky Dolphin is a highly acrobatic dolphin found in coastal waters in the Southern Hemisphere.

Dolphin Photos

Short-Finned Pilot Whales

The Short-finned species is more populous. It is found in temperate and tropical waters of the Indian, Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. These dolphins prefer deep water.

Dolphin Photos

Killer Whales

The day-to-day behavior of orcas is generally divided into four activities: foraging, traveling, resting and socializing. Orcas are generally enthusiastic in their socializing, engaging in behaviors such as breaching, spyhopping, and tail-slapping.

Dolphin Photos

Bottlenose Dolphins

Large shark species such as the tiger shark, the dusky shark, and the bull shark prey on the Bottlenose Dolphin. However, the dolphin is far from helpless against its predators and it has been known to fight back through charges; indeed, dolphin 'mobbing' behavior of sharks can occasionally prove fatal for the shark. The Orca may also prey on dolphins, but this seems very rare.

Dolphin Photos

Bottlenose Dolphins

Bottlenose Dolphins are not endangered. Their future is currently foreseen to be stable because of their abundance and high adaptability. However, some specific populations are threatened due to various environmental changes. In U.S. waters, hunting and harassing of marine mammals is forbidden in almost all circumstances.

Dolphin Photos

Spotted Dolphins

The coloring of the Atlantic Spotted Dolphin varies enormously as they grow. Calves are a fairly uniform gray color. When the calves are weaned, they then begin to get their spots. Juveniles have some dark spots on their belly, and white spots of their flanks. Their back and dorsal fin are a darker gray than the rest of the body. As the animal matures the spots became denser and spread all over the body until at full physical maturation the body appears black with white spots.

Dolphin Photos

Spotted Dolphins

Some Atlantic Spotted Dolphins, particularly some of those are around the Bahamas have become habituated to human contact. In these areas cruises to watch and even swim with the dolphins are common.

Dolphin Photos

Bottlenose Dolphins

Their diet consists mainly of small fish, occasionally squid, crabs, octopus, and other similar animals. Their peg-like teeth serve to grasp but not to chew food.

Dolphin Photos

Spotted Dolphins

Spotted dolphins seem to be less spotted as you travel East in the Atlantic and West in the Pacific. For this reason, they can often be mistaken for bottlenoses. Atlantic spotted dolphins have no spots when they are born. They are about one year old when the first grayish white spots begin to appear.