Did you know that a bottlenose dolphin can hold its breath for 8 minutes and 45 seconds?  These dolphins can eat up to 6% of its own body weight.  They live in almost every major ocean.  These dolphins got their name “bottlenose” because their noses are in the shape of a bottle.

Bottlenose dolphins survive on a diet of mostly bottom dwelling fish.  They also eat shrimp and squid.  These animals are active hunters.  They swallow most fish whole and usually consume them head first so that the spines don’t get caught in their throat.  Fish that are too large to swallow are rubbed on the ocean floor in order to break up into pieces.

Bottlenose dolphins can be found in waters around the world, anywhere from 20 to 60 feet deep.  There are 2 types of bottlenose dolphins: coastal and offshore.  Coastal dolphins like warm, shallow water.  Offshore dolphins like deep, cold water.  Although some of these dolphins remain in a “home range,” others will migrate to different waters.  The reasons for migration are changes in water temperature and movement of food.

When a group of bottlenose dolphins travel together, they are called a pod.  These mammals are 10 to 14 feet long and can weigh up to 800 pounds.  The male bottlenose dolphin is about 4 feet longer than the female.  They have tiny earholes located behind their eyes.  They don’t have nostrils like humans; instead they breath through a blowhole on the top of their head.

These intelligent mammals always have a smile, are incredibly playful and can communicate with one another. Just go down to Coronado Shore and you might be lucky enough to see a bottlenose dolphin in the distance.