Nature

These widespread dolphins are active and very acrobatic.

Life span - unknown.

Statistics - Bottlenose dolphins have a body length of 1.9-3.9m and weigh 150-650kg.

Physical description - Bottlenose dolphins appear uniform grey, but their colouring can be very variable. They have a prominent dorsal fin, and have a short, well-developed snout which resembles an old style gin bottle (hence its name.)

Distribution - They are mainly found in the temperate and tropical waters of Pacific, Indian and Atlantic Oceans.

Diet - Bottlenose dolphins feed on squid, shrimp, eels and a wide variety of fish. They often hunt in teams.

Behaviour - Like most dolphins, they are extremely social and remain in groups of 1-10 individuals in coastal regions, and groups of 1-25 offshore.

Conservation status - Bottlenose dolphins are classified as Data Deficient by the IUCN Red List. Global threats include hunting, human disturbance, habitat loss, prey depletion, pollution, entanglement in nets and collisions with vessels.

Dolphins are considered to be one of the most intelligent mammals. About 0.94 per cent of a bottlenose dolphin's weight is made up of its brain.