Pantropical Spotted Dolphin
By: Edilia Epitacio De La Cruz
Pantropical Spotted Dolphin ( stenella attenuata)
This mammal is the fastest swimmer, they will often ride with the bow waves of a boat.
This animals are the most distinctive because of their the spots that are all around the body of an adult dolphin. Underneath the spots the body is grey, with a darker shade of grey extending from the back from the head and going low underneath the fin that is in its back. During the time that they are babies they do not have these spots.
The male dolphin is a little bigger than the female dolphin. The small dolphin are known to for making high vertical leaps out of the water.
These mammals feed mainly at night on mall fish squid and crustaceans that that rise near the surface.
About every two to three years the mature female gives birth to a calf after a gestation period of about 11 months. After the calf is born it is nursed for between one and two years.
The average length of a spotted dolphin is from 166-257 cm2
The average weight is 119Kg
Are they endangered?
These dolphins are hunted for food in Asia, Indonesia, the Philippines and parts of the Pacific. They are considered lower risk according to the IUCN.What can we do in North Carolina to help protect this animal?
We can help stop the fishing of this spotted dolphins by not fishing them ourselves. We can also warn other people that if they hunt these animals they can go extinct.