Please help us keep this unique regional magazine thriving, and support the ecosystem we’ve built around it, by subscribing today. There are populations living in a variety of habitats, including coastal, open ocean, bays, and estuaries. There are also lesser-known species of dolphins that live in rivers of the world located in China, South America, India, Pakistan and Southeast Asia. (510) 528-8550, Subscription Customer Service: The babies are between 65 and 85 cm long at birth and weigh 6.5 – 10 kg. Some of the large, baleen whales spend time alone, they may well be in acoustic contact with others and join together for group activities such as feeding, migrating and breeding. (200 to 300 kg). Is it true they can sing? The foundation for whale and dolphin social lives is the mother-baby bond. Where have they come from? Dolphins generally have conical teeth, curved dorsal fins—not shark—and an elongated snout. Dolphins can be between 4 ft long to 30 ft long (in the case of orcas). Marine dolphins can be found all around the world, varying in size and colouration, but rarely coming closer inland than bays or estuaries. Communication is vital for smooth running social lives and high levels of cooperation, and whales and dolphins have developed some of the richest languages known. By 2010, they were being photographed regularly in San Francisco Bay. These include a remarkable wolf-sized mammal called ‘Pakicetus’, who had similarly positioned and shaped ear bones to modern whales, as well as similarly arranged teeth. This is thrilling for whale watchers as everybody gets a good look at a whale’s face and eyes. Dolphins are very social animals. Whales and dolphins are amazing creatures that keep surprising us; the more we discover, the more we are fascinated, moved and humbled. Dolphins can live 50 or more years. Porpoises have spade-shaped teeth; short, triangular dorsal fins—think shark—and blunt heads. You can join our team and help us save whales and dolphins. Blue, fin, sei, minke, humpback, gray and right whales are all included in this group. Kayakers, paddleboarders, and swimmers report watching these delightfully intelligent mammals as they hunt for now-plentiful fish. Learn more about whales and dolphins and what we can do to protect them. Dolphins usually have beak-like, pointed snouts, while porpoises have blunt, rounded noses. Scientists working on long-term studies of whales and dolphins give names to individuals. The feeling of kinship and sense of wonder we feel for whales and dolphins is undeniable, and that makes them very special. Porpoises seldom live longer than 15 years. 1328 6th St., #2 They all have streamlined bodies with flippers, horizontal tails, human-like eyes, obvious mouths, and blowholes (nostrils) on the top of the head. Dolphins have pointed conical teeth that they eat their prey with. Before 1983, there were no reports of bottlenose dolphins in our area; the closest place they lived was Southern California. Your gifts help us take action for whales and dolphins. Dolphins tend to have a sleeker, more streamlined body shape than porpoises. In addition to their vocal repertoires, whales and dolphins are masters of body language too. He was seen in San Francisco Bay for the first time in 2013. There are both! Dolphins can live 50 years or more. Harbour Porpoises mate with multiple partners. It could be to dislodge parasites, it could be to create a similar effect to lobtailing, it could be to convey messages to other members of their group, or it could, quite simply, be the sheer pleasure of exuberant play. Why do they migrate? (True porpoises are a different saltwater mammal and are not commonly found in Florida waters.) It’s possible that in the interim, our porpoises collectively “forgot” about the Bay and had to rediscover it. Bay Nature’s email newsletter delivers local nature stories, hikes, and events to your inbox each week. Dall’s porpoises are limited to the North Pacific: in the east from California to the Bering Sea and Okhotsk Sea, and in the west down to the Sea of Japan. Dolphins inhabit a wide range of the world’s oceans. Porpoises, divided into six species, live in all oceans, and mostly near the shore. Porpoises have spade-shaped teeth, stubby faces, and triangular dorsal fins. However, the babies are small and a bit wrinkly, and they are vulnerable. They are built upon complex structures and levels of interdependence that can only be forged from the strongest of social bonds. One of the best places to see them is near Fort Point underneath the Golden Gate Bridge. For many whales and dolphins, mothers and youngsters continue to stay close together long after the important early-life connection period. Porpoise teeth are flat and rectangular. In their natural environments, wild and free they certainly enrich the lives of people who come into contact with them. They are, however, more closely related to narwhals and belugas than to the true dolphins. There are seven extant species of porpoise, all among the smallest of the toothed whales. Oceans and freshwater rivers Dolphins and porpoises delight us with their playful antics and warm our hearts with their friendly faces. Willow, I learned, is at least 20 years old! ‘Cetaceans’ is the collective name for all whales, dolphins and porpoises who between them form a single group, known as an order. At quieter times they might be seen 'logging', the term given to floating on the water's surface, a great energy saving, resting position. Baleen whales have baleen plates in their mouths instead of teeth which allow them to filter feed. But what is it about these beautiful, stupendous, gregarious yet mysterious, other-worldly creatures that prompt so much feeling and empathy amongst us? To give the well-known phrase a twist, no whale or dolphin is an island. Dolphins live in the world’s seas and oceans and in some rivers too. The dolphins form the largest group, and (rather confusingly) include the orca, or killer whale, as well as the pilot whales. Usually in Florida both names refer to the Bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncates), the species commonly found along Florida's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. We work with our partners to study, protect, and conserve these iconic species. Family associations among whales and dolphins vary in terms of the kind or degree of closeness and the longevity of the relationships. Yes, orcas are dolphins! By comparing the unique patterns of nicks and notches on their dorsal fins, Keener helped me identify three individuals—Chip and Mattea, both females, and Willow, a male. Most dolphins are marine mammals – this means that they live in the sea. Recognising individuals is an important tool as it’s the key to finding out more and understanding whale and dolphin social lives, relationships, life histories, migration and habitat use. Most dolphins live in the ocean, but there are five species of river dolphins that live in fresh water. The bottlenose dolphin is one of the most well-known and recognizable dolphin species in the world. And it is the legacy of millions of years on land that still remain such as breathing air, feeding their babies with milk, finger skeletons inside their flippers, and hind limbs that disappear before birth. But that year, El Niño brought warm water and different species of fish north…along with the dolphins. When it comes to the similarities between dolphins and porpoises these marine mammals share a number of similar characteristics with one another. Dolphins possess a "beak" and have a curved dorsal fin, while porpoises have a blunt head and a triangular dorsal fin. Ideally, harbour porpoises like to eat small schooling fish, like herring, sprat and sand eels – and lots of them, too. Dolphins are also often longer, averaging about six to 12 feet in length, where porpoises only reach a maximum seven feet in length. Perhaps the porpoises followed them. Why do we give them names? Whales, dolphins and porpoises are born already able to swim, with fully formed vision and hearing. Open Space Park or Hotel? Porpoises have triangular dorsal fins, like a shark. They live in large groups called pods, with up to a dozen individuals. Sharks have a taste for anything smaller than themselves, which includes vulnerable baby dolphins. They're the Biggest Animals in the World. Of the two families, dolphins have greater diversity. What’s That Fish Jumping at the Shallow Bay’s Edge? Registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, Welcome to the world of whales, dolphins and porpoises, Saving the endangered North Atlantic right whale, Meet Delilah – Our Inflatable North Atlantic Right Whale, Sharing the Seas – Safe Boating for Sailors, Whale Sense – Responsible Whale Watching. Although the words “dolphin” and “porpoise” are sometimes used interchangeably, there is a big taxonomic difference between these two groups of cetaceans. The terms porpoise and dolphin are sometimes erroneously used interchangeably. Dolphins have a curved, or hooked, fin, while porpoises are equipped with a triangular one, NOAA says. Black above and white below, finless porpoises have a rounded head. The porpoises, seven species in all, are distinguished from dolphins by their stubbier beaks and flatter teeth. They are all mammals. There are a few species of freshwater dolphins, however, which are found in some of the largest of the world's rivers in South America and Asia. Why do so many of us love whales and dolphins? They have been sighted as far south as Scammon’s Lagoon in Baja California when water temperature was unseasonably cold. Plus, some species have dorsal fins, some do not, some have beaks, others do not. Breaching requires a great deal of whale power. Members of the public can share their own sightings at: marinemammalcenter.org/science/cetacean-field-research. The Future of the Burlingame Shoreline Could Set a Precedent for Climate Adaptation. Guide to Britain’s dolphins, porpoise and whales: how to identify and best places to to see. Baby Dolphins and Big Consequences. Every story from Bay Nature magazine is the product of a team of people dedicated to connecting our readers to the world around them and increasing environmental literacy. At birth the mother, or fellow pod member, will immediately help the newborn to the surface to take their first breath of air. The vast majority of whales and dolphins, however, belong in the toothed category, and they feed on prey in a similar manner to most carnivores. The orca, or killer whale, for example, is actually the largest member of the dolphin … Support WDC by shopping for yourself or a friend. Biologists from San Diego recognized some of these individual dolphins and said, “Those are ours!”. First, a who’s-who lesson. It takes the baby a few days to master surfacing smoothly for air at his or her mother’s side; at first they are a little clumsy and tend to push their heads too far out of the water. And our English “porpoise” comes from the Latin words porcus and piscis, or “pig fish,” another ancient reference to air-breathing mammals. First, a who’s-who lesson. The most exciting sight to see above the waves, however, and the one that most people love to catch on camera if possible, is breaching. (Those of us of a certain age remember the TV star Flipper, a bottlenose dolphin from Florida.) Oakland’s Buoyant Ecologies Float Lab Is Both, As the Sea Rises and Climate Changes, a Bay Area City Approves 469 Single Family Homes On a Bayshore Flood Zone. There have been pods living in San Francisco Bay for centuries, if not millennia.