March is the time to wish our favorite cetacean friends a happy Dolphin Awareness Month. A good occasion to highlight dolphins and to draw attention to their vulnerability to hunting, fishing, capture, and exploitation.
Despite being one of the ocean’s most iconic inhabitants, dolphins continue to face alarming threats to their survival – from oil spills to accidental death as bycatch in fisheries.
Common Bottlenose Dolphins
The common bottlenose dolphin is one of the most commonly observed dolphins in coastal waters throughout the world. It also maintains large populations offshore, but is not as common as other open water dolphins, such as the short-beaked common dolphin and others.
Common bottlenose dolphins and other dolphins are thought to be some of the smartest animals on the planet, challenging the great apes (chimps and gorillas) for the top spot. They are also extremely curious and often approach people to investigate. Their intelligence is likely both a result of and a driver of their complex social structures. They generally live in small groups and organize complex, group behaviors when mating and hunting. Their preferred prey includes small, schooling fishes and squids. Adult common bottlenose dolphins have no known predators, and juveniles are likely only rarely taken by large sharks or perhaps other predatory marine mammals.
This species is hunted for human consumption and for use as fishing bait in several places around the world, but global numbers are generally considered to be in good shape. Population trends for common bottlenose dolphins are not well known, but scientists believe this dolphin to be a species of least concern. In the United States and some other places, the common bottlenose dolphin is given complete legal protection as a result of it being a highly intelligent, marine mammal.
What dolphins live in Canada’s coastal waters?
When we think of dolphins, many of us imagine the tropics – warm, blue, pristine waters teeming with dolphins. What we might not always think of are the many species of dolphins that call Canada home! Here are a few of them:
Pacific white-sided dolphin
Known for the distinct white patches on their sides that give them their name, Pacific white-sided dolphins are extremely social and playful. They can often be spotted swimming near the front of a boat, breaching, splashing or even spinning in the air.
Killer whale
Killer whales are actually dolphins! In fact, they’re the largest of the dolphins and one of the smartest animals on the planet, challenging chimpanzees and gorillas for the top spot. They are also extremely curious and will approach people to investigate.
Risso’s dolphin
Octopus, squid and other cephalopods are the Risso’s dolphins favoured food. These dolphins are born a greyish colour, but many have extensive white scarring made by the teeth of other dolphins and by the beaks of their prey. They’re very gregarious and are often seen with other dolphin species, they have even been known to hybridize, or interbreed, with bottlenose dolphins!
Atlantic white-sided dolphin
Fast, charismatic and colourful, Atlantic white-sided dolphins can be spotted in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. They are a dark blue-black colour on the top with white to yellow sides and a large sickle-shaped dorsal fin.
Short-beaked common dolphin
Short-beaked common dolphins are one of the most frequently spotted dolphins around the world. Their population is listed as ‘least concern’ meaning they are not considered threatened or near-threatened. They are often confused with their close relative, long-beaked common dolphins. For many years, both species were known as the “common dolphin,” but recently they were divided into two species, separated by size, appearance and habitat.
White-beaked dolphin
White-beaked dolphins can be found in the cold waters of the North Atlantic, often ranging into ice-free arctic and sub-arctic waters – who said dolphins were only found in the tropics!? They have short, thick beaks and typically live in groups of five to 30 individuals.
Striped dolphin
Striped dolphins are very social and acrobatic – they can jump several metres high! They are commonly spotted in the summer off the coast of Nova Scotia living in smaller groups of 25 to 100 individuals. They’re very fast swimmers and can dive extremely deep in search of prey.
Northern right whale dolphin
These dolphins are named after right whales and, like the whales, they lack a dorsal fin. Northern right whale dolphins are very slender, mostly black in colour and can be found in the deep, cold waters of the Pacific Ocean. Their close relative, the Southern right whale dolphin, lives in the southern hemisphere and is quite similar in appearance.
How Your Adoption Helps Save Dolphins: Oceana campaigns around the world to protect dolphins and other marine mammals. Your symbolic adoption supports our proven campaigns to prevent dolphin deaths as bycatch in fisheries; stop the expansion of new offshore drilling, oil spills and seismic airgun blasting; and defend landmark legislation that ensures dolphins receive the protections they need. All donations go toward making our world's oceans healthier and safer, for generations to come.