Common bottlenose dolphin

Quick answers

Where does the Common bottlenose dolphin live?

It lives in coasts, open ocean of the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans. On the globe you can find it near Gulf of Mexico.

How big is the Common bottlenose dolphin?

It grows to about 3 m and 250 kg.

What does the Common bottlenose dolphin eat?

Its diet: fish eater.

How fast is the Common bottlenose dolphin?

It can reach about 35 km/h.

How long does the Common bottlenose dolphin live?

It can live up to about 50 years.

Is the Common bottlenose dolphin endangered?

It is listed as Least Concern (IUCN LC).

The common bottlenose dolphin is one of the best-known dolphins in the world. It is grey, with a short beak, a single blowhole on top of its head and a hooked fin on its back. It lives in warm and temperate seas almost everywhere, and is missing only from the polar waters.

Adults are usually 2.5 to 3.5 metres long and weigh 200 to 500 kilograms. Bottlenose dolphins are very social and use many sounds to talk, including clicks, whistles and squeaks, as well as body language like leaping and slapping their tails on the water. Because they are so friendly and clever, bottlenose dolphins are the dolphins most people know from aquariums, movies and television.

How do dolphins hunt and talk?

Bottlenose dolphins eat eels, squid, shrimp and fish, and they swallow food whole instead of chewing. They often hunt together to herd schools of fish, though sometimes they hunt alone.

To find prey they mostly use echolocation, a kind of natural sonar: the dolphin makes sounds and listens for the echoes that bounce back. They also whistle to each other, and each dolphin has its own signature whistle that works a bit like a name.

Life in a pod

Bottlenose dolphins live in groups called pods. A typical pod has about 15 dolphins, but groups can range from a few pairs to more than a hundred, and sometimes over a thousand gather for a short time.

Their necks are more flexible than those of other dolphins, because five of their seven neck bones are not fused together. Dolphins also rest in a special way, switching off one half of the brain at a time.

Fun facts

Each dolphin has its own 'signature whistle' that works like a name.

Each bottlenose dolphin has its own signature whistle that works like a name.

They swallow their food whole instead of chewing it.

Only two of a bottlenose dolphin's seven neck bones are fused, so it can turn its head more than many other dolphins.

Pods are usually about 15 dolphins but can gather in groups of over a thousand.

On the globe

The dolphin swims in the Gulf of Mexico. Look for its grey body, short beak and curved back fin.