Right whale dolphin

These dolphins are black and white.

They do not have a fin on their back. This makes them look special.

They live in big groups in the sea. Some groups have many hundreds of dolphins.

They are very fast swimmers. They can leap high out of the water.

One kind lives in the north. The other kind lives in the south. They can live for 40 years.

These dolphins are very amazing animals.

Right whale dolphins are slender sea animals.

They are mostly black with white bellies. Some have more white on their bodies. The southern kind has white on its sides and face. These dolphins are special because they lack a dorsal fin. A dorsal fin is the fin on a dolphin's back.

There are two kinds of these dolphins. The northern kind lives in the North Pacific. The southern kind lives in the southern part of the world. They live in large groups called pods. Some pods have hundreds of dolphins. Other groups may have 3,000 animals!

These dolphins are very fast. They can swim over 40 km/h. They can even leap 7 metres out of the water. They can live for about 40 years. In the north, some dolphins follow squid to find food. Scientists say the northern kind is very smart. It has a high encephalization quotient. This is a way to measure how smart an animal is. Their score is the highest after humans.

Right whale dolphins are special members of the delphinid family.

These animals are very slender and mostly black in color. They have white bellies, but the two species look different. The southern species has much more white on its body. This white covers its flanks, flippers, beak, and forehead. Most dolphins have a fin on their back.

These dolphins lack that dorsal fin or ridge. This unique trait is why they have their name.

These dolphins live in large, social groups called pods.

Some pods have several hundred individuals in them. Sometimes, groups can grow as large as 3,000 animals. They are some of the fastest swimmers in the sea. They can swim at speeds over 40 km/h. When they move fast, they can leap 7 metres.

They leap in a graceful, bouncing motion across the surface.

Scientists have known about these dolphins for a long time.

Bernard Germain de la Cépède identified the southern species in 1804. Later, Titian Peale identified the northern species in 1848. Even with this history, we still learn new things. We know very little about their daily life and behavior. The northern species is the only finless dolphin in the Pacific. The southern species is the only one in the southern hemisphere.

The northern species lives in the temperate North Pacific.

This area runs from Japan to British Columbia. There are about 14,000 of them near North American shores. They may follow squid to find food in the winter.

The southern species lives in a ring around the bottom of the world. They are often seen in the Tasman Sea. The southern species is usually larger and heavier than the northern kind. Both types can live for about 40 years.

These dolphins are very intelligent living things.

The northern species has a very high encephalization quotient. This is a way to measure how smart an animal is. Their score is the highest of any species except humans.

They have faced hard jobs in the past. In the 1980s, many northern dolphins died in large fishing nets. The United Nations banned these nets in 1993. People still work hard to protect these dolphins today.

Right whale dolphins are unique cetaceans within the genus Lissodelphis.

They belong to the delphinid family, which includes many common oceanic dolphins. These animals are characterized by their slender bodies and dark coloration. Most notably, they lack a dorsal fin or a ridge on their backs. This physical trait is why they share a name with right whales.

Scientists categorize them into two distinct species based on geography and appearance.

The two species are the northern right whale dolphin and the southern right whale dolphin. They can be distinguished by the amount of white on their bodies. Both species have white bellies, but the southern species has much more white. This white coloration covers the flanks, flippers, beak, and forehead of the southern species. They also differ in size and weight. The southern species is typically larger and heavier than the northern species.

Both types can live for approximately 40 years.

Physical development follows a specific pattern for these dolphins. Both sexes reach sexual maturity at about 10 years of age. Newborn dolphins are quite small compared to their parents. They are only about half the length of their mothers or fathers. In the northern species, males reach a specific length at maturity. The southern species reaches a higher maximum weight and length than the northern one. These biological details help researchers understand their life history.

History shows that humans have studied these dolphins for centuries. Bernard Germain de la Cépède identified the southern species in 1804. Later, Titian Peale identified the northern species in 1848. Despite this long history, much remains unknown about their behavior. We still have very little information regarding their specific life histories. Researchers continue to study how they live and interact in the wild.

Their intelligence is a major point of scientific interest.

The northern species possesses a very high encephalization quotient. This is a scientific measure used to correlate brain size with intelligence. Their score is 5.55, which is the highest of any living species except humans. This suggests a high level of cognitive ability.

Their social lives are also quite complex. They are highly gregarious animals that live in large pods. These pods can contain several hundred individuals. Sometimes, they congregate in massive groups of up to 3,000 animals.

Distribution varies greatly between the two types of dolphins. The northern species lives in the temperate North Pacific. Their range runs from Kamchatka and Japan to British Columbia and Baja California. There are an estimated 14,000 individuals near the North American shoreline. They are pelagic, meaning they live in the open ocean. They may follow squid populations during the winter and spring.

The southern species has a circumpolar distribution. This means they live in a ring around the southern hemisphere. They are often sighted in the Tasman Sea.

These dolphins are also known for their incredible physical abilities. They are among the fastest swimmers in the ocean. They can move at speeds in excess of 40 km/h. When swimming at high speeds, they perform graceful leaps. They can bounce across the water's surface up to 7 metres high.

Their behavior can change quickly. They may be very boisterous, breaching and tail-slapping. Other times, they become very quiet and difficult to detect at sea.

Conservation efforts are necessary to protect these populations from harm. The southern species faces pressure from whaling operations in Peru. The northern species has not been targeted for commercial whaling. However, tens of thousands of northern dolphins died in the 1980s. They were caught in oceanic drift gillnets. The United Nations banned these specific nets in 1993.

Additionally, attempts to keep these dolphins in aquaria have failed. In almost every case, the dolphins died within three weeks of capture.