Whales, Porpoises and Dolphins


Picture by James Yonge.	You will never forget when a group of wild dolphins surfs the bow wave your boat makes as it travels through the water. Dolphins and porpoises are cetaceans, which are animals in the whale family and as such they are considered to be small whales. Porpoises are generally the smallest at 6 feet/2m long, dolphins up to 30 feet/10m long and whales are larger. All dolphins and porpoises are toothed whales (odontocetes). Dolphins have sharp teeth, while porpoises have teeth that are flat or rounded. There are 81 varieties and these are the most common: Blue whale, Humpback whale, Southern right whale, Sperm whale, Narwhal, Killer whale (Orca), Bottlenose dolphin, Dusky dolphin. All dolphins and porpoises navigate by listening to echoes of sounds they make themselves which they can interpret. They are social animals and like to live in groups. Only the males sing. The male takes no part in rearing their young. Please send us some pictures! Thanks.
	Amazon river dolphin	Andrew’s beaked whale	Atlantic hump-backed dolphin	Atlantic spotted dolphin
	Atlantic white-sided dolphin	Arnoux’s beaked whale	Bahamonde’s beaked whale	Baird’s beaked whale
	Beluga	Black dolphin	Blainville's beaked whale	Blue whale
	Bottlenose dolphin	Bowhead whale	Bryde’s whale	Burmeister’s porpoise
	Cuvier’s beaked whale	Commerson's dolphin	Dall’s porpoise	Dusky dolphin
	Dwarf sperm whale	False killer whale	Fin whale	Finless porpoise
	Franciscana	Fraser’s dolphin	Ganges river dolphin	Gray’s beaked whale
	Gray’s dolphin	Gervais’ beaked whale	Ginkgo-toothed beaked whale	Grey whale
	Harbour porpoise	Hector’s beaked whale	Heaviside’s dolphin	Hector's dolphin
	Hourglass dolphin	Hubb’s beaked whale	Humpback whale	Indus river dolphin
	Indo-Pacific hump-backed dolphin	Irrawaddy dolphin	Killer whale	Lesser beaked whale
	Long-finned pilot whale	Long-beaked common dolphin	Longman’s beaked whale	Long-snouted spinner dolphin
	Minke whale	Melon-headed whale	Narwhal	Northern bottlenose whale
	Northern right whale	Northern rightwhale dolphin	Orca	Pacific white-sided dolphin
	Pantropical spotted dolphin	Peale’s dolphin	Pygmy killer whale	Pygmy right whale
	Rough-toothed dolphin	Risso’s dolphin	Sei whale	Shepherd’s beaked whale
	Short-beaked common dolphin	Short-finned pilot whale	Short-snouted spinner dolphin	Southern rightwhale dolphin
	Southern bottlenose whale	Southern right whale	Spectacled porpoise	Sperm whale
	Sowerby’s beaked whale	Stejneger’s beaked whale	Strap-toothed whale	Striped dolphin
	True’s beaked whale	Tucuxi	Unidentified beaked whale	Vaquita
	White-beaked dolphin	Yangtze river dolphin
	Please send us details of your dives to Dogsbreathdivers@hotmail.com
Picture by www.AquasportLanzarote.com in Spain	Dolphins have a sophisticated social structure and a wide range of emotions, including aggression. Once a calf has been born other males consider the mother ready to mate, but she does not. She wants to raise her calf. Calfs are totally dependent on its mother for at least 3 years. Males need to mate from underneath. To stop them she may rest on her back on the surface, or lie on the sea bed, but she has to rise eventually to breath. She finds it difficult to out swim the males as her calf will not be able to keep up, and she stays with her calf. She may also slap the surface of the sea with her flukes (fins) to dissuade males, but it doesn't usually work.
(a humpback whale) Picture by www.breezehawaii.com	Dolphins swim in large schools which can be up to 1000 strong (Natal, South Africa). They herd fish using their bodies and also bubble netting, and then eat them.

Bowhead whale	This is the only large whale to live only in the Arctic. It's blubber can be 70cm/2 foot thick. It has large white markings on it face and an otherwise dark grey/black body. In order to breath it can force a hole in ice up to 6 ft/2m thick. They are slow to mature, have only 1 calf in 4 years and can live to be 100 years old. Young can take 15 - 20 yrs to mature. They are now an endangered species, also known as right whales. They are slow swimmers and their dead bodies float. Blubber produces 6000 gallons of oil per whale. By the 1930s they were nearly wiped out. They often swim with beluga whales. They have been tracked from the Arctic where they feed on plankton and copepods in Bisco Bay, Greenland in May. From Greenland they go north, to Lancaster Sound in Canada, then south to Hudson Straight in 6 months. They can dive to 500 feet and stay down for 15 minutes. Tracking their seasonal movements is difficult as the tags keep getting knocked off.
Northern right whale	The name Right comes from whalers as these whales come to the surface and stay there as they are friendly! They considered them the right whale to kill. Also called Bowhead whale
Southern right whale	Seen in South Africa and Argentina. Their heads are marked with very rough patches of grey/white skin called collocates. Argentina has declared them a natural monument. The name Right comes from whalers as these whales come to the surface and stay there as they are friendly! Also called Bowhead whale
Pygmy right whale	Details awaited

Grey whale	Eschrichtius robustus
	Grey whales are medium sized whales, reaching up to 45 feet in length and are grey with white patches. They have a low hump and a series of six to twelve knuckles or bumps. The grey whale is a baleen whale and has around 300 plates which are used to trap and filter their food. They stay in coastal areas and stir up the sea bed, sucking in the bottom dwelling animals on one side of their mouth and expelling the filtered water from the baleen on the other side of their mouth. There are around 23,000 grey whales and they are only found in the Pacific. The main population summers north of Alaska in the Bering and Chukchi Seas and winters in the waters of Baja California. Another population in the Pacific, found in the waters of Korea and Japan has less than 50 individuals. Grey whales have been protected since 1946 and have now returned from the brink of extinction. They were removed from the endangered species list in 1994. During summer, they live in the Arctic, well inside the Arctic circle. As autumn/fall approaches, there is less sunlight, the water turns cold and there is less food so they migrate 10,000 miles to Baja California, where they enter lagoons to give birth and mate. The calf is born with a smooth skin. Grey whales can be seen passing by California in December and January during their southern migration, and again in March and April on their return journey when they have to avoid Orcas who try to eat the calf. They sometimes hide on the sea bed in kelp. They live around 50 years. Female gray whales usually give birth every two to three years, and gestation lasts twelve or thirteen months. Newborn calves are 12 to 15 feet/5m in length and weigh about 1,500 pounds. Calves are weaned at about eight months and stay close to the shore as they migrate. The mother loses half her weight while she is weaning her calf.
Humpback whale (a humpback whale) Picture by www.breezehawaii.com	The humpback whale is named for the way its back arches out of the water when it starts a deep dive and they are among the most endangered of the whales. They are very dark except for the fins, parts of the chest and belly and the underside of the tail flukes. There seem to be three populations: North Pacific, North Atlantic, and Southern Hemisphere. They swim in groups of up to a dozen at calving grounds, and in smaller groups of three to four during migration. Northern hemisphere humpbacks reach an average length of 48 feet/15m, and southern humpbacks reach 60 feet/20m. Adults weigh 38 tons on average. Calves drink 50 gallons of milk from their mother each day, during which the mother does not eat at all. Their migration patterns can take them 6000 miles from summer to winter. Humpbacks are baleen whales and use 270-400 baleen plates to strain krill, herring, other small fish, and plankton out of the water. They are known for their "singing." Their songs last as long as 20 minutes and may be repeated. Humpback whales visit the islands of Niue and Tonga in the Pacific during June to November, on their migration from Antarctica to warmer northern waters. They also over winter near Hawaii. There is little food in the warm waters and food is plentiful in the cold waters of Alaska. In deep water their song may be heard over hundreds of miles. They average 6 miles per hour, which includes rest periods. They work together to frighten herring shoals by high pitched singing and by creating 'bubble nets' up to 100 ft across to force the shoals to the surface where the humpbacks rise, mouths open and swallow them. May to Oct - New South Wales, Australia.
Minke whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata)	At 7-10metres long (22-33ft). This is one of the smallest of the baleen whales. Those in the northern hemisphere have a white band on their fins which is not on their southern relatives. Diet: Small schooling fish and krill. Distribution : worldwide, preferring cooler waters. There are over 10,000 in the North Sea in summer
Bryde's whale	Details awaited
Fin whale	Details awaited
Sei whale	Details awaited

Blue whale

Balaenoptera musculus.

The Blue whale is the largest mammal ever to live on the earth. Its body is long and tapered and averages 80 feet/ 23.5m long although some have been recorded at 100 feet/30metres. They average 100,000 pounds (150 tons) and females are larger than males. Some of their blood vessels are so wide you could swim down them. They are blue-gray colour all over, with light gray patches. Cold water diatoms picked up in the polar regions sometimes give their bellies a yellowish tinge, giving the blue whale its nick-name of "Sulfur bottom.".

Blues are found worldwide with the largest in the Antarctic. They swim individually or in small groups and pairs are regularly seen. There are between 5000 - 10,000 of them today and they are considered an endangered species. They mate and calve in tropical-to-temperate waters during winter months and feed in polar waters during summer months. They are often seen in the summer and autumn ( fall) off the central California coast, feeding in such places as the Gulf of the Farallones and Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuaries.

When it blows the water spout it is tall and straight and over 20 feet (6 meters) high.

They eat krill by the million. Blue whales are baleen whales with 55-68 pleated throat grooves that expand when the animal takes in water while feeding. During the summer feeding season (the polar summers) each blue eats about 4 tons (3.6 metric tons) or 40 million krill a day. As a baleen whale, it has an expandable throat to open and hold krill in water and a series of 260-400 overlapping black plates which trap and filter food as water is expelled. They migrate to warmer waters in the winter and can travel at 20 knots.

The blue whale reaches sexual maturity between the ages of 6-10 years, or when males average about 74 feet (23m) and females are about 79 feet (24m). Gestation lasts about one year, and at birth, the blue whale calf is about 25 feet/7.5m long and weighs 5,500 pounds/3 tones. A nursing blue whale mother produces over 50 gallons of milk a day and may only reproduce every 2-3 years. The calf is weaned at eight months of age and an average length of over 48 feet/16m. We do not know where they breed.

The blue whale makes deep, low frequency sounds enabling them to communicate with each other over hundreds of miles of ocean.

There are excellent pictures at http://earthwindow.com/blue.html which are Copyright © Mike Johnson, with all rights reserved.

Sperm whale

Physeter Cartodon.
Eat fish and other sea life. Known to eat Patagonian toothfish. The head is box like with a single blow hole on the left of the forehead. It dives to 1000m/3000ft for over 45 minutes and sometimes rests on the surface for up to 15 minutes. At the surface the air is the same pressure as we breath it. At this depth its lungs are just 1% of its surface volume.
This is the Moby Dick of books. They dive deeper than any other whale for food.

Distribution: Southern ocean; Caribbean -Dominican republic.

Males grow up to 60 feet/ 18m. Adults weight 20-50 tonnes.

Pygmy sperm whale

Details awaited

Dwarf sperm whale
Details awaited

Narwhal
or Monodon monocerus

Small groups are often seen above the Arctic circle in summer between the east coast of Canada to Russia. The male can reach 4.7m/14ft long, the females are a little smaller. The male has a long tusk of up to 9ft/3m long. The males fight. It used to be called the sea canary as its call is more of a whistle and clicks although most people know it as the sea unicorn.
The adult Narwhal can live to be 50 years old, has a mottled skin, no dorsal fin and small flippers. and weigh between 800kg and 1.6 tonnes. It eats shrimps, fish and squid.

There are believed to be 25,000 - 40,000 of them.

More details on http://www.cetacea.org/narwhal.htm

Beluga

Beluga whales are pure white and normally live in pods of up to 25 whales in the Arctic, never leaving it. Their face seems to smile. They are one of the smallest whales although 40% of their body weight is blubber. Many groups can merge during migrations to 2000 whales. They are social whales and sometimes called the canaries of the sea. They use over 11 different types of clicks and sounds.

Arnoux's beaked whale

Details awaited

Baird's beaked whale
Details awaited

Northern bottlenose whale
Bulbous forehead. Will approach stationary boats. Grey body with white forehead and underbelly. Short beak. Found in the deep north Atlantic.

Southern bottlenose whale
Rarely seen, hardly anything known.

Sowerby's beaked whale

Blue/grey body with a white belly, chest and chin. Pointed beak. Up to 5m/16ft long. Rarely seen but believed to be found around the North Atlantic.

Andrew's beaked whale
Details awaited

Hubb's beaked whale

California, Japan and Pacific.
Easily identified by its long sturdy beak, white 'cap' on its head and strongly arched mouth. Size 5m, 1-1.5 tonnes.

Blainville's beaked whale
Details awaited

Gervais' beaked whale
Details awaited

Ginkgo-toothed beaked whale
Details awaited

Gray's beaked whale
Details awaited

Hector's beaked whale
Very little known. Grey body, cream underside, light grey head. Found around New Zealand.

Strap-toothed whale
Details awaited

True's beaked whale
Details awaited

Stejneger's beaked whale
Details awaited

Lesser beaked whale
Details awaited

Longman's beaked whale

Mesoplodon (Indopacetus) pacificus

One of the least known whales as it is only known from two skulls found in (1882) Queensland, Australia and (1955) Somalia. Estimated size 8m. Distribution - between Australia and Somalia!

Bahamonde's beaked whale

Details awaited

Unidentified beaked whale
Details awaited

Shepherd's beaked whale
Details awaited

Cuvier's beaked whale
Details awaited

Pygmy killer whale
Blue grey body with dark grey top, dorsal fin and upper head. White chin, belly and tail fin. Believed to eat other cetaceans.
Found in deep, offshore waters in the tropics. Eats fish, squid and other dolphins.

Melon-headed whale

They can be seen in Guam ... and there is an excellent picture on http://rwdiving.com

False killer whale Details awaited.
Picture by http://photos.yahoo.com/magicpudding in the Philippines.

Long-finned pilot whale

A squadron was seen off Wakaya Island, Fiji Feb 1999.

Short-finned pilot whale
Globicephala Macrorhyndchus Males grow to 15feet/5metres with a thick rounded head and a curved dorsal fin. They normally travel in groups up to 15.

Killer whale /Orca

Orcinus orca

<picture awaited>

Orcas are the largest members of the dolphin family. They are found in all the oceans of the world and seem to prefer temperate or cool waters. However, they are also found in polar ice areas. Some populations remain local and travel along predictable routes. Others are transient and move over great distances following their food. They acquired the name "whale killer" from mariners observing them eating other whales. The name has been changed to "killer whale" although there are no records of Orcas ever killing a person. But they do eat herring, squid, shark, otters, sea lions, penguins (penguins are birds not fish and can weigh 13 kilos each!), birds, octopus, dolphins, sting rays and salmon. Fish are herded in bubble nets, then they whack the shoal with their tail fins which produce loud bangs that stun the fish into unconsciousness before eating them.

The familiar black and white colouration of the orca is actually camouflage. From above, their dark back blends in with the darker water below them, while from below, their whiter underside blends in with the sunlit water above. They have been known to turn upside down so that the white belly scares fish into moving up, where they are easier to catch.

Male Orcas reach 32 feet in length, weigh over eight tons, and have a dorsal fin up to five feet tall. Females are smaller at 22 feet, weigh about four tons, and have a three foot dorsal fin. They have 50 conical teeth.

They are very social whales and families consist of between 5-30 individuals and may have developed their own dialect. Mating and birth take place mainly in the autumn and winter, and gestation lasts over 12 months. At birth, Orcas are about six to seven feet/2.2m long and weigh almost 400 lbs.

Long-snouted spinner dolphin

Stenella Longirotris.

Length of 5.5 feet with a triangular dorsal fin and a long narrow head. They are known for acrobatic jumping as they turn over many times high in the air before hitting the water. They are found in Australia, Dominica (Caribbean), Japan, Guam, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Niue in the Pacific all year round.
There are many varieties of spinner dolphin which vary in colour, shape and size {1.3m/4ft - 2.1m/7ft}. They often travel in large groups of 200 or more.

Tucuxi

Sotalia fluviatilis

There are two varieties - one in the oceans of north eastern South America and eastern coast of central America; and the other in lakes and rivers. They have been seen 2,500km up the Amazon.
Around 1.3m - 1.8m (4-5ft) long and weighing 40kg/88lb.

Short-snouted spinner dolphin

They are found in Niue in the Pacific and Hawaii all year round.
Picture by www.breezehawaii.com

Striped dolphin
No details

Pantropical spotted dolphin
No details

Atlantic spotted dolphin
No details

Atlantic hump-backed dolphin
No details

Indo-Pacific hump-backed dolphin
No details

Northern rightwhale dolphin
No details

Southern rightwhale dolphin
No details

Long-beaked common dolphin
No details

Short-beaked common dolphin
No details

Rough-toothed dolphin
No details

Risso's dolphin
Their bulging foreheads and tall dorsal fins make identification easy. They can reach 3.8m/12ft. Seen worldwide in tropical and warm waters such as off the Californian coast where their preferred food of squid, octopuses and fish are plentiful.. Known to be a deep diver.

Irrawaddy dolphin No details

Fraser's dolphin No details

Bottlenose dolphin

Seen in tropical, sub tropical and temperate seas. Gulf of California, Red sea, Black sea and the Mediterranean.
There is a lot more information at www.seaworld.org/bottlenose_dolphin/echodol.html

Commerson's dolphin

Lives in Antarctica and likes to surf the bow wave of the few boats there. No other details.

Hector's dolphin
These are one of the rarest dolphins. There are around 100 in North Island, New Zealand from Manukau Harbour to Raglan Harbour.
They can also be found in the South Island NZ. The best place to be close to them is a bay called Curio Bay in the Caitlins (between Dunedin & Invercargill). There is a pod that lives permanently in the bay, year round and I have swam with them on many occasions. There is a Ranger there on most days making sure the dolphins are safe and not being abused by the public and you have to follow rules such as you cannot swim towards them and if they swim towards you, you mustn't touch them etc. It is said that Curio Bay is the only bay in the world that has a permanent pod of dolphins that are not fed by humans to keep them there. One of the most wonderful occasions I had there was a mother and calf (which was tiny) swimming around and around me. Angela Chilton.

Heaviside's dolphin No details.

Black dolphin No details.

Hourglass dolphin No details.

Peale's dolphin No details.

Atlantic white-sided dolphin No details.

Pacific white-sided dolphin

Friendly. Seen off the Californian coast and Alaska.

White-beaked dolphin No details.

Yangtze river dolphin This is probably the rarest dolphin in the world as there may only be 30 left. They grow up to 2.5m/8ft and can weigh 160kg feeding on fish.
Location: Yangtze river, China.

Ganges river dolphin
No details.

Indus river dolphin
No details.

Amazon river dolphin
No details.

Harbour porpoise

Shy, but occasionally seen off the Californian coast.

Burmeister's porpoise
No details.

Finless porpoise
No details.

Spectacled porpoise
No details.

Dall's porpoise

Black and white colouration. Fast swimmer. Seen off the Californian coast.

Dusky dolphin

Seen in New Zealand.

additional information can be found at:

E-mail acs@pobox.com AMERICAN CETACEAN SOCIETY : American Cetacean Society P.O. Box 1391, San Pedro, CA 90733-1391, Telephone 310-548-6279, Fax 310-548-6950,

	The blue whale reaches sexual maturity between the ages of 6-10 years, or when males average about 74 feet (23m) and females are about 79 feet (24m). Gestation lasts about one year, and at birth, the blue whale calf is about 25 feet/7.5m long and weighs 5,500 pounds/3 tones. A nursing blue whale mother produces over 50 gallons of milk a day and may only reproduce every 2-3 years. The calf is weaned at eight months of age and an average length of over 48 feet/16m. We do not know where they breed. The blue whale makes deep, low frequency sounds enabling them to communicate with each other over hundreds of miles of ocean. There are excellent pictures at http://earthwindow.com/blue.html which are Copyright © Mike Johnson, with all rights reserved.
Sperm whale	Physeter Cartodon. Eat fish and other sea life. Known to eat Patagonian toothfish. The head is box like with a single blow hole on the left of the forehead. It dives to 1000m/3000ft for over 45 minutes and sometimes rests on the surface for up to 15 minutes. At the surface the air is the same pressure as we breath it. At this depth its lungs are just 1% of its surface volume. This is the Moby Dick of books. They dive deeper than any other whale for food.
Distribution:	Southern ocean; Caribbean -Dominican republic.
	Males grow up to 60 feet/ 18m. Adults weight 20-50 tonnes.

Pygmy sperm whale	Details awaited
Dwarf sperm whale	Details awaited
Narwhal or Monodon monocerus	Small groups are often seen above the Arctic circle in summer between the east coast of Canada to Russia. The male can reach 4.7m/14ft long, the females are a little smaller. The male has a long tusk of up to 9ft/3m long. The males fight. It used to be called the sea canary as its call is more of a whistle and clicks although most people know it as the sea unicorn. The adult Narwhal can live to be 50 years old, has a mottled skin, no dorsal fin and small flippers. and weigh between 800kg and 1.6 tonnes. It eats shrimps, fish and squid. There are believed to be 25,000 - 40,000 of them. More details on http://www.cetacea.org/narwhal.htm
Beluga	Beluga whales are pure white and normally live in pods of up to 25 whales in the Arctic, never leaving it. Their face seems to smile. They are one of the smallest whales although 40% of their body weight is blubber. Many groups can merge during migrations to 2000 whales. They are social whales and sometimes called the canaries of the sea. They use over 11 different types of clicks and sounds.
Arnoux's beaked whale	Details awaited
Baird's beaked whale	Details awaited
Northern bottlenose whale	Bulbous forehead. Will approach stationary boats. Grey body with white forehead and underbelly. Short beak. Found in the deep north Atlantic.
Southern bottlenose whale	Rarely seen, hardly anything known.
Sowerby's beaked whale	Blue/grey body with a white belly, chest and chin. Pointed beak. Up to 5m/16ft long. Rarely seen but believed to be found around the North Atlantic.
Andrew's beaked whale	Details awaited
Hubb's beaked whale	California, Japan and Pacific. Easily identified by its long sturdy beak, white 'cap' on its head and strongly arched mouth. Size 5m, 1-1.5 tonnes.
Blainville's beaked whale	Details awaited
Gervais' beaked whale	Details awaited

Ginkgo-toothed beaked whale	Details awaited
Gray's beaked whale	Details awaited
Hector's beaked whale	Very little known. Grey body, cream underside, light grey head. Found around New Zealand.
Strap-toothed whale	Details awaited
True's beaked whale	Details awaited
Stejneger's beaked whale	Details awaited
Lesser beaked whale	Details awaited

Longman's beaked whale	Mesoplodon (Indopacetus) pacificus
	One of the least known whales as it is only known from two skulls found in (1882) Queensland, Australia and (1955) Somalia. Estimated size 8m. Distribution - between Australia and Somalia!

Bahamonde's beaked whale	Details awaited
Unidentified beaked whale	Details awaited
Shepherd's beaked whale	Details awaited
Cuvier's beaked whale	Details awaited
Pygmy killer whale	Blue grey body with dark grey top, dorsal fin and upper head. White chin, belly and tail fin. Believed to eat other cetaceans. Found in deep, offshore waters in the tropics. Eats fish, squid and other dolphins.
Melon-headed whale	They can be seen in Guam ... and there is an excellent picture on http://rwdiving.com
False killer whale	Details awaited. Picture by http://photos.yahoo.com/magicpudding in the Philippines.
Long-finned pilot whale	A squadron was seen off Wakaya Island, Fiji Feb 1999.

Tucuxi Sotalia fluviatilis	There are two varieties - one in the oceans of north eastern South America and eastern coast of central America; and the other in lakes and rivers. They have been seen 2,500km up the Amazon. Around 1.3m - 1.8m (4-5ft) long and weighing 40kg/88lb.
Short-snouted spinner dolphin	They are found in Niue in the Pacific and Hawaii all year round. Picture by www.breezehawaii.com
Striped dolphin	No details
Pantropical spotted dolphin	No details
Atlantic spotted dolphin	No details
Atlantic hump-backed dolphin	No details
Indo-Pacific hump-backed dolphin	No details

Northern rightwhale dolphin	No details
Southern rightwhale dolphin	No details
Long-beaked common dolphin	No details
Short-beaked common dolphin	No details
Rough-toothed dolphin	No details
Risso's dolphin	Their bulging foreheads and tall dorsal fins make identification easy. They can reach 3.8m/12ft. Seen worldwide in tropical and warm waters such as off the Californian coast where their preferred food of squid, octopuses and fish are plentiful.. Known to be a deep diver.

Irrawaddy dolphin	No details
Fraser's dolphin	No details
Bottlenose dolphin	Seen in tropical, sub tropical and temperate seas. Gulf of California, Red sea, Black sea and the Mediterranean. There is a lot more information at www.seaworld.org/bottlenose_dolphin/echodol.html
Commerson's dolphin	Lives in Antarctica and likes to surf the bow wave of the few boats there. No other details.
Hector's dolphin	These are one of the rarest dolphins. There are around 100 in North Island, New Zealand from Manukau Harbour to Raglan Harbour. They can also be found in the South Island NZ. The best place to be close to them is a bay called Curio Bay in the Caitlins (between Dunedin & Invercargill). There is a pod that lives permanently in the bay, year round and I have swam with them on many occasions. There is a Ranger there on most days making sure the dolphins are safe and not being abused by the public and you have to follow rules such as you cannot swim towards them and if they swim towards you, you mustn't touch them etc. It is said that Curio Bay is the only bay in the world that has a permanent pod of dolphins that are not fed by humans to keep them there. One of the most wonderful occasions I had there was a mother and calf (which was tiny) swimming around and around me. Angela Chilton.
Heaviside's dolphin	No details.
Black dolphin	No details.
Hourglass dolphin	No details.
Peale's dolphin	No details.
Atlantic white-sided dolphin	No details.
Pacific white-sided dolphin	Friendly. Seen off the Californian coast and Alaska.
White-beaked dolphin	No details.
Yangtze river dolphin	This is probably the rarest dolphin in the world as there may only be 30 left. They grow up to 2.5m/8ft and can weigh 160kg feeding on fish. Location: Yangtze river, China.
Ganges river dolphin	No details.
Indus river dolphin	No details.
Amazon river dolphin	No details.
Harbour porpoise	Shy, but occasionally seen off the Californian coast.
Burmeister's porpoise	No details.
Finless porpoise	No details.
Spectacled porpoise	No details.
Dall's porpoise	Black and white colouration. Fast swimmer. Seen off the Californian coast.
Dusky dolphin	Seen in New Zealand.
additional information can be found at:
E-mail acs@pobox.com	AMERICAN CETACEAN SOCIETY : American Cetacean Society P.O. Box 1391, San Pedro, CA 90733-1391, Telephone 310-548-6279, Fax 310-548-6950,

Whales, Porpoises and Dolphins

Narwhal or Monodon monocerus

Dall's porpoise

Narwhal
or Monodon monocerus