British Virgin Islands Bottlenose Dolphin 2005 BU Crown

Description

The Atlantic bottlenose dolphins are small cetaceans that have a long, beaklike snout, a sickle-shaped dorsal fin, and sharp teeth. They are Odontoceti (toothed whales) and have one blowhole. Bottlenose dolphins live in small groups called pods. The bottlenose dolphin can grow to be 12 feet long, and can attain weights of more than 1,400 pounds, although generally are smaller than this. Bottlenose dolphins are hunters that fish mostly at the surface of the water, eating mostly fish and squid. They have many pairs of sharp, pointed teeth distributed in both the upper and lower jaws. Bottlenose dolphins live in small pods of up to 12 whales and are very social animals. Often, many pods group together to form congregations of hundreds of dolphins. Dolphins can dive down to more than 1,000 feet and can jump up to 20 feet out of the water. A bow rider is a dolphin that hitches a rides in the bow wave in front of a ship. The dolphin surfs using the pressure created in front of a moving ship. Dolphins breathe air at the surface of the water through a single blowhole located near the top of the head. They need to breathe about every 2 minutes, but can hold their breath for several minutes. Their blow is a single, explosive cloud. Bottlenose dolphins live near the coast and inshore waters from northern Cape Hatteras to southern Florida and westward through the Gulf of Mexico.