Bottlenose Dolphins

The bottlenose dolphin is perhaps one of the most well known cetaceans, because of its widespread use in marine parks and research facilities. The bottlenose dolphin may be best known as Flipper" (as seen in the television series). This is the dolphin most frequently seen along the shores of the United States. This species is very flexible in its behavior.

Behavior

Tuna are among the bottlenose dolphin's preferred foods.

1. Dolphins in a pod appear to establish strong social bonds.
2. Each dolphin appears to have its own distinctive whistle used to communicate information on its identity, location, and condition to other dolphins. Dolphins also use click-like pulses produced by nasal sacs in the forehead for echolocation.
3. They generally consume approximately 6-7 kg of seafood (squid, shrimp, eel, and a wide variety of fishes) daily.

Interaction with humans

When interacting with dolphins, you must be very careful. While most dolphins and people can swim perfectly happily together, dolphins are wild creatures and cannot easily communicate pain or discomfort to humans. It is always important to refrain from touching near a dolphin's eye or blowhole, and to avoid too much body-to-body contact to protect the health of the dolphin.

• Bottlenose dolphins often perform in dolphin shows. Some animal welfare groups oppose this practice due to the thought the dolphins don't receive adequate care. However, other support groups advocate the practice because the dolphin are properly cared for and the dolphin enjoy human interaction.
• Therapies for handicapped children involve interaction with bottlenose dolphin. These therapies have proven to be very successful.
• The United States and Russian military train bottlenose dolphin for wartime tasks such as locating sea mines and detecting enemy divers.

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