Among the most acrobatic of all dolphins — famous for spectacular leaps, somersaults, and backflips. Coloring is distinctive: dark charcoal-black on the back and dorsal fin, with a pale grey-to-white flank area marked by two diagonal streaks. The belly is white.
Excellent hearing and echolocation, well-suited to locating fish schools in the often-murky nearshore waters of their range. Vision is sharp both in and out of water.
Dusky Dolphins use whistles and click trains for communication. Their aerial displays are thought to serve as long-distance visual communication signals within large pods.
At night, Dusky Dolphins move offshore to feed on mesopelagic fish that rise in the water column. They hunt cooperatively in large groups, using echolocation to locate prey.
Gestation
11–13 months. Females give birth every 2–3 years.
Birth
Calves are approximately 24 inches long and weigh around 7–10 lbs at birth. Born tail-first.
Calves
Calves nurse for approximately 18 months and stay with their mother for 2–3 years.
Females reach sexual maturity at 4–7 years; males at 5–7 years. Breeding typically occurs during late summer and autumn.
Extremely social. Off Kaikōura, groups of 5–500 are common; larger aggregations of 1,000+ form during feeding frenzies.
Considered the most acrobatic dolphin in the world. Their leaps and spins appear playful — and are partly social signaling.
The Dusky Dolphin was first described to science by John Edward Gray in 1828 from a skull collected off the Cape of Good Hope.
25+ years. Threats include bycatch in gill nets and purse seines, prey depletion from commercial fishing, and marine noise pollution.
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