Photographed by Bette Jackson



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Hi, I'm Dr. Jerry Jackson, out with the wild things. Because they're mammals, bottlenose dolphins are warm-blooded, give birth to live young they nourish with milk and must come to the surface to breathe air. Dolphins are among the mammals most highly adapted for life in the water. They've lost their hind legs, their front legs are modified as flippers, and they've become very streamlined, allowing easy movement through the water. As an additional adaptation for speedy movement in the water, they've also lost their coat of hair. A bottlenose dolphin’s nostrils are near the top of its head, and their openings are fused to provide only a single blowhole. In most dolphins, long jaws form a beak-like snout, lined with sharp pointed teeth that aid in capturing fish and squid. Ranging in size from about three feet at birth to six to twelve feet as an adult, the Atlantic bottlenose dolphin is found from cool temperate to tropical waters of oceans around the world. This is the dolphin most often seen along Florida's coast, although it can also be found well off-shore. Bottlenose dolphins appeared on the television series Flipper, and other one's most commonly seen at tourist attractions.