Pacific+White-Sided+Dolphin

//Lagenorhynchus obliquidens// (Lags) Photo by America Zoo
 * Location: North Pacific Ocean
 * Life Span: 40+ years
 * Size: 8 ft and 300lbs. Big body and short beak. Curved dorsal fin
 * Reproduction: gestation 1 year, calves 3 ft, mature in 7 years
 * Color: attractively marked, black and gray, white belly, black lips. Suspender like stripe runs down each side
 * Threat: Japanese drive and harpoon fisheries
 * Behavior: Particularly lively and often seen by the splashes it makes. They are full of curiosity and will even approach boats to have a look. Pacific White Sided Dolphins are quite athletic, charming and highly sociable creatures. It is energetic and playful, frequently seen leaping clear from the water doing somersaults and belly flops just for the joy of it. Sometimes jumping so far out of the water that they land on the decks of ships. These dolphins are fast and acrobatic swimmers clocking speeds of 25mph. They are extremely active and will eagerly bow ride with a moving ship or even surf ocean waves for extended periods. Breaching is a common behavior, and sometimes the dolphins will spin in midair and do flips. They are a joy to watch to people young and old. In offshore waters they swim along in large groups numbering from 100 to several thousand, sometimes with other dolphins and sea lions. They will even care for a sick or injured dolphin. Such behaviors as tail slapping, biting, or rubbing, may be how they keep track of one another, courtship, or alerting others of danger. They feed on small ocean fish and swallow them whole rather then chewing so the spines dont catch in their throats. Although it seems they like cuttlefish the most. They migrate in the fall to warmer waters along the coasts of the United States up to 125 miles from the shore.

by Kylie♥