Common Bottlenose Dolphin

Bottlenose dolphins are marine mammals that live in fluid social groups called pods. They come and go from the main pod in smaller groups, keeping track of each other with calls, gestures and touch. They use echolocation to navigate and a strong sense of hearing to hunt fish. Dolphins have many teeth but only hold their prey with them—they swallow their food whole.

Dolphins have sleek, mostly hairless bodies with thick skin and blubber. They use their tail fluke for power and pectoral fins (flippers) to steer and stop. A dolphin can move as fast as 40 miles per hour to launch itself out of the water! They can wait up to 4 minutes without taking a breath through their blowhole, which helps them dive. Dolphins never really sleep—they rest only half of their brain at a time, so that they can keep breathing and swimming, day or night!

One dolphin calf is born to a new mom after about a year of gestation. Calves nurse milk from their mom for more than a year, but mothers and other females take care of the calves for up to 3 years. Bottlenose dolphins have strong social bonds that can last decades, as they can live to be 50 years old. They understand human vocal cues, mimic sounds, solve problems together and even use tools for fishing!