The common bottlenose dolphin or Atlantic bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) is the most well-known member of the dolphin family. It is grey in color, with a silver or white colored underbelly, and is named after its short, well-defined beak, which is said to resemble a gin bottle. The bottlenose dolphin is found in temperate and tropical marine waters worldwide.
Bottlenose dolphins live in family groups called pods and are highly sociable, using a wide variety of sounds to communicate. They feed on many different types of prey including shrimp, squid, other invertebrates, and fish. The dolphins feed by nosing into rocky crevasses near the shore, and chase fish onto mud banks by snapping them up while they are beached, or by cooperatively herding prey into dense clusters against a shore or to the surface of the water. The bottlenose dolphin is highly intelligent and has been known to drive fish towards local fishermen to catch, before eating any fish that escape or evade the nets.
- Bottlenose dolphins in Shark Bay, Australia learned to wear sponges over their beaks while foraging among sharp coral — the only known case of cetacean tool use.
- As is true for all cetaceans, a dolphin's nostrils have shifted to the top of its head, becoming a blowhole that permits easy breathing at the water's surface.
- A bottlenose dolphin contains three times more blood than a human by body weight, increasing the dolphin's oxygen-storage capacity during dives.
- When asleep, a dolphin keeps half of its brain awake in order to keep breathing.
Bluestem Zoological Park features state-of-the-art digital displays, designed to look and feel just like floor-to-ceiling glass, but are actually livestream cam videos showcasing select animals within their natural habitat. Cams on display include OrcaLab's Orca Cam and USC Wrigley Catalina Marine Reserve Dolphin cam.
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