Bottlenose Dolphin
Read more about Bottlenose Dolphin
Tursiops truncatus (Montagu, 1821)
From the 13 different dolphin species recorded as occurring in UAE waters, there are three dolphins, or locally known as ‘dakhs’, which are seen most often from Abu Dhabi shore lines: the bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus), the Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin (Sousa chinensis) and the common dolphin (Delphinus delphis).
T. truncatus or the bottlenose dolphin is very widespread and found in coastal waters of most temperate, tropical and subtropical waters. In waters of Abu Dhabi Emirate,
T. truncatus occurs in a number of habitats ranging from open water and coastal waters to rocky reefs.
T. truncatus dolphins are highly intelligent animals; they have a sophisticated echolocation system and communicate via a range of sounds. Bottlenose dolphins are typically very sociable animals, living in groups numbering between 10 and 100 individuals. This species has a broad diet, with a wide variety of fish and invertebrates including cephalopods being taken. Females produce a single calf in the summer after a gestation period of 12 months. The calf suckles for up to 18 months and stays close to the mother until it reaches four or five years of age.
Classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List and listed on Appendix II of CITES. Included in Appendix II of the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS).
