#delphinids

[namu-the-orca]

Arctic Odontocetes

And here's the three other Icelandic whales poster illustrations. All true Arctic species, roaming the frigid water of the high north. While Atlantic white-sided dolphins can occasionally be spotted along European shores, Narwhal and Belugas roam the true ice seas.

Narwhals are famous for their rather striking dentition: the huge, up to 3 meter long tusk, is hard to miss. It's actually their left canine tooth - every once in a while the right canine erupts too, making for a double-tusker. It's usually only males who are so adorned, as only a very small number of females (15%) bear tusks.

The exact function of the tusk is still debated: originally thought to be a simple weapon, now it is mostly thought to serve as a secondary sexual characteristic, inducing status in the bearer. The bigger the tooth, the sexier the man. However, researchers suspect they may have many more functions. Through the tusk run thousands of nerves which enable Narwhals to sense differences in water temperature and salinity. On top of that tusks have been observed to aid hunting and social interactions between males, and perhaps more. And the occasional Narwhal has been found with a broken tusk embedded in their cheek. So perhaps some good ole fashioned fighting happens after all, though no one has ever observed it happening.

The tuskless females survive just fine without them though and often live to be even older than males (up to 115 years!), so the advantages can't be that critical. Nevertheless it's fascinating to think about. Somewhere out there in the ice cold seas where we would freeze to death in an instant, swim whales - fellow mammals - sensing the waters with their 3 meter long canine tooth, occasionally slapping a fish unconscious. A wholly alien experience lived by an animal not so essentially different from us.

Atlantic white-sided dolphins may be far less mysterious, but nevertheless amongst my favourite delphinids. They've such beautiful markings. And the beluga... no doubt well known too as living marshmallows. I must say that youtube videos of their melons and fatty flabs being wobbled is great watching material.

Also - the "Whales of Iceland" poster is officially up for sale! You can nab one at Pappyr's website here. Not sponsored or anything, I just think the poster turned out super neat.

[orcinus-veterinarius]

Hiya! Would you be willing to explain why keeping captive right whales is completely nonviable, as you mentioned? I’m fascinated, but the adhd simply will not let me parse scientific papers.

That's a fantastic question! While it would be wonderful if captive breeding were a viable option for this critically endangered species, it just isn't possible under any realistic conditions.

For starters, their size. Orcas are the largest mammals successfully held in captivity, and we all know how difficult (and controversial) that is, with only a very small handful of facilities ever pulling it off with any semblance of success. Tilikum, the largest captive orca (although I believe that record has since been overtaken by a male in China), was 22.5 feet (6.9 meters) long and weighed 12,500 pounds (5,700 kg). Most other orcas in human care, particularly the females, are considerably smaller. Compare that to a northern right whale. Even the smallest adults are over 40 feet long—double Tilikum's length—and weigh 88,000 pounds (40,000 kg)—seven times his weight—while the biggest specimens on record reached up to 61 feet (18.5 m) and an incredible 234,000 pounds (106,000 kg).

A tank for an animal that size would be far beyond anything we have the ability to engineer and maintain. Think of how deep it would have to be for the whale to even turn around! The water pressure would be astronomical, wreaking havoc on the building materials even if it were possible to build the structure. And remember—someone has to dive to clean it! Our theoretical right whale habitat would have to be a sea pen, but even the 100-acre facilities proposed with orcas in mind are nowhere near deep enough. While right whales are considered to inhabit "coastal" waters, they do not live right up by the shoreline, like certain orca ecotypes and other small delphinids. They are a pelagic species, designed to live out in the open water column, as are all baleen whales. So, the pen would have to be a floating habitat miles out into the open water (think of an offshore oil rig), with netting sturdy enough to not be destroyed by a 50 ton whale and long enough to extend hundreds of feet to the ocean floor. We're talking probably thousands of square miles of netting, that would have to be routinely inspected for safety and upkeep. So, you would probably need a submersible, since no human can dive that deep. On top of that, it would be difficult to find such a larger stretch of ocean in their habitat without shipping lanes, underwater noise, or pollution. And let's just forget about the logistics of staffing that place—or worse, funding.

Additionally, we wouldn't be able to feed them by tossing fish into their mouth like with dolphins. Northern right whales feed on tiny crustaceans and zooplankton, cruising along and filtering the creatures from the water with their baleen. Assuming our right whale keepers were somehow able to acquire the insane amount of food the whale requires (potentially over 5000 pounds of zooplankton a day), it would need to be scattered throughout the massive habitat to facilitate feeding. I imagine this would probably look something like the way Georgia Aquarium feeds their whale sharks from a little boat, although on a much larger scale. And since the food obviously can't be kept alive, we would need to develop someway of delivering the daily vitamins that are lost in the freezing process—and to keep hundreds of tons of krill frozen on a floating kitchen in the middle of the ocean.

Of course, the ultimate goal of this project would be to breed northern right whales... that means we need to take everything we just talked about and double it, at a bare minimum. For the breeding program to be successful, it would need a whole lot more than just two whales. And unfortunately, even if we lived in world with magical floating thousand-acre sea pens, unlimited krill, and endless money... we still don't know if it would even work. Right whale breeding habits are poorly understood, with the whales mating in cold northern waters before migrating 1,000 miles south to calve. Despite our best theoretical efforts, these migratory patterns could very well be necessary for successful reproduction.

Thank you again for the ask! This was actually a lot of fun to think about! If you want to read about JJ, the only baleen whale ever successfully housed in (temporary) human care, you can find an article and pictures here.

[inatungulates]

Atlantic spotted dolphin "Stenella" frontalis

Observed by jpdandretta, CC BY

Features for recognizing the bridled dolphins, pt. 1: Atlantic spotted dolphin

The five mid-size dolphin species traditionally grouped together in the paraphyletic genus Stenella - the "bridled" or "side-striped" dolphins - may not have the striking coloration of some dolphins (i.e., common dolphins, Atlantic white-sided dolphins) or the extremely bold high-contrast patterning of others (i.e., southern right whale dolphins, Commerson's dolphins, killer whales), but these species still exhibit intricate patterns with several subtleties that, along with general body form, allow the fairly-similar species to be told apart.

Despite the name, Atlantic spotted dolphins are only sparsely spotted for much of their life, and complete coverage of a dense spot pattern develops only in the oldest individuals. Unspotted or lightly-spotted juveniles and young adults are probably the most "generic"-looking of the bridled dolphins, more easy to confuse with common bottlenose dolphins Tursiops truncatus than with any of their traditional congeners. Still, there are useful field marks to look for:

The most obvious, to my eye, is the intruding blaze from the paler thoracic patch (lighter area on the side of the face and ribcage) into the darker dorsal cape, running up toward the dorsal fin. Note that in this individual, the spotting is more heavily-developed along the thoracic patch and continues along the blaze, but the cape remains virtually unspotted.

The paler color of the underside often runs quite high up the sides of these dolphins, and can be quite strongly demarcated, rather than gradual. Note that in this individual, the transition from the medium-grey of the sides to the white of the lower body is crisp, and marked by a concentration of spots.

Note that the spots in the paler areas (lower body, face) are large, black, and more widely-spaced, while the spots in the darker areas (sides, back) are smaller, pale grey or whitish, and more concentrated. Older animals are completely dark with a dense covering of pale spots.

There is a fairly strong development of the mask (dark area immediately around the eye) and the typical delphinid bridle (thin stripes running from the eye over the rostrum, and from the rostrum to the blowhole).

Useful features of body form for ID:

The rostrum (beak) is of moderate length. It is a bit shorter and stubbier than in most of the other bridled dolphins, but it is notably longer and more thin than a common bottlenose dolphin.

The pectoral flippers and especially the dorsal fin are proportionally large. The relative size of the dorsal fin is, again, a useful trait for distinguishing from bottlenose dolphins.

[engagemythrusters]

right whale dolphin

Right whale dolphin:

4/5 only scoring so low because I read “right whale” and was going to start BEGGING everyone to please please please pay attention to the North Atlantic Right Whale as their population is all but GONE (less than 400 left). But then I saw there was another word and realised this was in fact about their delphinid cousin. Which I do also enjoy—delphinids near and dear to my heart. But it doesn’t give me the chance to beg everyone to please work towered North Atlantic Right Whale conservation 😔

[afishonado]

Killer whales do not breathe through their mouths. To my knowledge, there is only one account of any cetacean breathing through the mouth, a Hector’s dolphin. It may be possible for delphinids to voluntarily accommodate their larynx to allow mouth breathing, but in its standard orientation, the respiratory system is separated. So a killer whale would have to use its blowhole to blow the shofar.

Important Question. 

[c4n1ne]

French firefighters and members of the local Animal Protection League (LPA) creating the conditions to rescue four long-finned pilot whales (Globicephala melas) beached on the shore of Calais.

[the-ipre]

asking about orcas

ok so my coworker made a casual offhanded remark about orcas two weeks ago and i am now so very interested in them that ive been reading legitimate research papers, so!

in the wild, orcas make up pods, and for the most part these pods do not mix with other pods, and calves will stay with their mothers for their entire lives. orcas have a dominant matriarch, which is very cool! also a fun and interesting fact is that young adolescent males becoming sexually mature have been seen having 'practice' sex with postmenopausal orcas. this helps learn and pass on social skills in a way that is very cool to me! pods are very social and orcas have very close bonds with one another, which is helped along by the fact that the emotional center of their brains are super big and wrinkly

orcas from all over the world have different vocalizations and behaviors and are different enough that some are practically different subspecies. one interesting difference in behaviors is that the new zealand orca population (about 200 orcas, they are critically endangered) tend to mix and match their pods? while pods in other places, such as the southern resident tribe off the coast of washington, stay together their whole lives, the new zealand orcas have smaller pods and are a bit more loosey goosey about trading members.

orcas have huge brains, possibly the largest in the animal kingdom, and an mri was done on a deceased one! it turns out that along with other delphinids (dolphins and porpoises), orcas brains are unparalleledly wrinkley. they are made to quickly transmit information, which is important with how quickly sound travels underwater and the way that they use echolocation. the corpus callosum (which connects the two sides of the brain) is much smaller, which helps them to shut off one side of the brain while leaving the other active so that they can swim and sleep at the same time. they have a very large cerebellum for learning and memory, but a small hippocampus because those tissues are incompatible with the amount of loud noise that echolocation causes. very cool stuff!!

taking all this into consideration. sea world is very bad. choose your own adventure on what i talk on next:

- mosquitoes and disease in sea world

- how messed up interactions and social structure is in captivity

- human deaths caused by captive orcas

[delphinidin4]

I used to train dolphins in the wild and in captivity. Are You going by delphinid do to a like of dolphins?

Delphinidin is a chemical that makes flowers and fruits blue or purple. Among these flowers are delphiniums, a name which comes from the ancient Greek delphis, meaning dolphin, because the shape of the flower was believed to look like the back of a dolphin.

TL;DR: Dolphins are fine, but I named the blog for blue flowers. :)

[derangedhyena-delphinidae]

Hey! I think this is a prime opportunity to grab some knowledge off you as someone who wants to learn more about the anti-captivity argument and why killer whales are unsuitable for captivity. Everything you know would be ideal with studies and links and stuff (you’re super smart. I can only hope to know as much as you one day). I understand that’s kind of impossible though!

Sure thing. Must preface with - I’m not really that smart, nor do I specifically have defined expertise at this or anything, I just really like to read. I also enjoy learning from the experts, which I’ve taken to doing around here via attending/filming many of the available talks. So that’s what I’d recommend to anyone, really. Firstoff as a resource, I would like to offer my Youtube channel, which features a variety of speakers covering many topics. Only a few are captivity-issue centric; available are not just videos I’ve recorded, but a handful of other videos I’ve found informative in playlists. Of those I’d recommend these two:

https://youtu.be/L00CfGpVnUAhttps://youtu.be/OmMv9t_hW8k

Here are a few links/documents/books I’d recommend as overviews as well.

https://awionline.org/content/confinement-marine-life AWI has an entire section of its website that explores various facets of these issues.

https://www.scribd.com/document/265647897/Killer-Whales-Theme-Parks-Controversy-An-Exploration-of-the-Evidence This is a chapter in the book Animals in Tourism: Understanding Diverse Relationships

https://www.scribd.com/document/312800031/Orca-White-Paper This is a paper authored by Dr. Rose while she was working at HSUS. She no longer works there, she works at AWI.

https://www.scribd.com/document/118447693/Captive-Orcas-Dying-to-Entertain-You-by-Vanessa-Williams An older WDC document, but still a decent (when not outdated) overview.

I know some folks may contend that this material majority-features a handful of folks (like Dr. Rose), but it is what it is - because there’s only a handful of folks writing about these things in general (positive or negative). References are available and presented in their documentation: I will always encourage people to look, really look, into those as well, so it becomes very clear that information is simply being gathered and presented as a unit. Not misrepresented in some fashion just because xyz person pulled it together.The other big “sections” of this for me personally are neurobiology, ethics, and ‘the industry’/Seaworld.The neurobiology section of this is a bit more vast than I’m prepared to cover in one sitting, but the tl;dr is delphinid brains exhibit incredible complexity and have a number of unique properties that very likely indicate a lot of intelligence/perceptual/emotional abilities. Here is a 2009 overview by Dr. Marino. There is substantial disagreement about the function/structure of delphinid brains (particularly lodged by one scientist’s “dumb dolphin” theory), as detailed here. A transcript making this somewhat easier to approach can be found here. The information is all worth considering. I personally find myself deferring to my own reading into affective neuroscience/related research (wiki link, overview), as well as general observations/research on cetacean behavior - which prompts me to find Dr. Marino’s assertions more compelling. I’ve noticed that captivity proponents tend to stick to the ‘dumb dolphin’ bit and ignore the other side of the discussion.Ethics! This is discussed in bits in most of the above, but there’s certainly an ethical side to all this that often goes ignored. I’m personally not in the boat that it’s unethical/wrong/improper to keep any/all animals captive. Just the ones that show evidence of having their lives highly negatively impacted as a result. There’s a world of difference between a cetacean and a fish. This isn’t saying fish aren’t smart - most animals have to be pretty smart in their own way or they wouldn’t have done well as a species! But I do doubt fish have the complex cognition necessary to understand confinement as a negative, and be insulted (physically) by it. (Unless the conditions are completely inadequate (temperate, size, surroundings, companions) and the fish can’t express its usual behavior, in which case it still likely can’t understand ‘confinement’ but it does understand it can’t function or behave normally and may be distressed as a result.)

Large predatory animals in particular tend to exhibit higher intelligence (more problem-solving typically needed to hunt) and have larger ranges - removing their ability to hunt, traverse area and meaningfully engage their environment as the species evolved to can cause problems (eg the incessant pacing seen in captive big cats, bears, etc.)  They’re also more or less stuck in captivity once there - captive-raised predators do poorly in the wild. This significantly undermines the claim that captive animals of that stripe have a lot of conservation value. Directly? They really don’t.

(Captive-raised cetaceans haven’t really ever been considered for wild release/conservation initiatives of that type, so the direct conservation value argument, while still made, has no basis. The link above discusses needed improvements and design for terrestrial predator programs. I’m all for it if they can figure it out, but as noted in the link, animals constantly subjected to people obviously won’t fare well when released - any eligible animal would need to be raised in relative human-seclusion in something more closely resembling its natural habitat. The same argument could easily be made for anything like this re: cetaceans - with the additional difficulty level that much of their learning seems to be culturally transmitted and rely on social structure heavily. How do you teach what you don’t know, in a framework you don’t have?)

One of the biggest problems this is the overall lack of research done on captive cetacean issues. Much critical material is forced to fill in blanks and operate from a basis of comparison, ex-trainer materials, and observation/documentation. Because direct information is largely unavailable, thanks to things like what’s noted here. And only very recently have cetacean-holding facilities even begun research on the topic of welfare in earnest, which is confusing and a little disturbing considering how long the practice has been going on and how vehemently it’s claimed that all is well and that captives contribute to research.Which, for research in general, they do. I have no doubts that they do. The concerns come in regarding how useful that research is for much besides perpetuating captives’ situations (breeding/husbandry materials) and very basic physiological stuff. There has been a lot learned about cetacean physiology in captivity, certainly. And I’m sure there’s more to be learned. But when one starts to bring in the ethics side of things, and what is being gained vs. what is being impacted (and for what - animals at a dedicated research facility and animals being used every day to mindlessly entertain audiences are different discussions, especially with all collateral considerations)...

A NOAA scientist called captive orca “sacrificial animals”. Even broader acknowledgment to the public by these facilities, that there are downsides, would be a great start, so people could be making better-informed decisions about whether or not they wanted to participate. Disguising the problems, dismissing criticisms and forcing a pleasant facade when big issues exist (and have, for a long time) does not point to wholesome ethics.Which leads me to Seaworld/industry representation. Why haven’t they done much/any research on the problems their animals have faced for years? Why are they constantly working to misinform the public and near-comically villainizing even reasonable criticisms? I can go into this further, separately, if desired, but there’s just a distressing amount of material supporting how “fake” and disingenuous they are. If they had these animals’ best interests in mind, instead of their company’s, this kind of behavior… really shouldn’t exist? Problems like this exist to a lesser degree in other facilities, depending on the facility. Unless it’s MSQ, which has problems connecting with reality at all.I do apologise if this doesn’t seem like “a lot”; reading, observing, talking to folks, listening to folks over several years (6+ now?) isn’t simple to condense. It is easier to address individual points/questions obviously, but I get that it’s useful to have an overview. Hopefully this is of use to that end.

[patatedestenebres]

My life with master, downton abbey dystopique

My life with master, downton abbey dystopique

Coucou mes p’tites patates gothiques! Bon alors aujourd’hui, nous allons remonter au début des années 2000, pratiquement la préhistoire pour les millenials! J’avais essayé ce jeu, mal photocopié par un camarade expérimentateur (le vilain), et l’expérience avait été plutôt surprenante, en tout cas loin de nos intrigues dans Eauprofonde, où de la protection des delphinides sous la surface de…

[pinerhealthcare]

Meteor meteorite meteoroid

This creates a bright streak of light called a meteor. Most meteoroids burn up in the atmosphere. This year's Perseid display peaks on August 12th and 13th.A meteoroid is a chunk of rock or metal from space that falls through the atmosphere, or layer of gases, surrounding Earth. NASA says to get ready for Perseid Fireballs New research from NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office identifies the Perseids as the "fireball champion" of annual meteor showers.The Perseids, the meteoroids of which come from a trail left by the Swift-Tuttle comet, generally produce one of the best meteor showers of the year, and often produce the most fireballs. Meteor shower to grace the sky this weekend When John Denver sang about seeing it rain fire in the sky in the Rocky Mountains, he was referencing the Perseid meteor shower, which will grace the skies through the weekend, peaking on the night of Aug.Perseids meteor shower to grace the sky this weekend When John Denver sang about seeing it rain fire in the sky in the Rocky Mountains, he was referencing the Perseid meteor shower, which will grace the skies through the weekend, peaking on the night of Aug.Contamination from the earth was ruled out and the meteorite was sent to the. The Antarctic Search for Meteorites ( ANSMET ) team discovered that this meteorite was clearly of Martian origin during its 2009-2010 field season. Martian Meteorite Contains Key Building Block Of Early Life Rebekah Eliason for - Your Universe Online A Martian meteorite discovered in Antarctica was found to contain some of the early building blocks of life.During the event, he joined a panel discussion on the. Notkin was one of the most in-demand celebrities at Spacefest V, an annual gathering of renowned astronauts, scientists and space artists held in Tucson, Arizona. Following Successful Spacefest, Geoff Notkin Heads to Challenger Space Center, Lowell Observatory Geoff Notkin, star of TV’s Meteorite Men, is following up a stellar appearance at Spacefest V over Memorial Day weekend with two special events in Arizona during the month of June.When and where to watch the gamma Delphinds Gamma Delphinids meteor shower: Back tonight, after 83 years? (+video) Gamma Delphinids: A rare meteor shower not seen since 1930 is expected to burst onto our skies late Tuesday night.That's not totally surprising, because some experts said in advance they weren't sure whether the meteor shower actually existed."I think it exists," Bill Cooke of NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office told NBC News, "but there was. Mystery meteor shower disappoints skywatchers, but wait till next year Skywatchers were hoping for a fireworks show from the Gamma Delphinid meteor shower early Tuesday, but what they got were merely a few snaps, crackles and pops.

[namu-the-orca]

Girl’s day out

I just realised I’d never posted the finished Dall’s porpoise painting I made for the Porpoise Conservation Society! High time to make up for that, because it’s one of my favourite things. I had so much fun painting this piece, the lighting, the surface, all those different poses and beautiful faces and markings. The front views were challenging though; Dall’s have very curious proportions that are rarely if ever captured on photographs. It took a lot of tries to get things right.

The painting offers a glimpse into something we will likely never get to see: a Dall’s porpoise nursery pod underwater. Although a striking and conspicuous species, very little is known about Dall’s social lives. Animals that bowride and offer close looks are usually juveniles  – females with calves are wary and stay far away from humans. Nonetheless some proof exists to support the idea that females come together in nursery pods, perhaps for protection or to help each other tend to their calves. 

Here we see females with calves in all stages of life. Near the surface one mother races along with her almost fully grown daughter, in the foreground another dives down with her newborn in tow, and in the background two mothers socialise: one with another neonate, the other an unruly juvenile. Note the juvenile’s almost delphinid facial markings, and the lighter sides that are almost creamy on the calves and have faded to grey on the juvenile. Dall’s porpoises in fact posses markings like most cetaceans, but as adults they darken out so much that the markings become indistinguishable.

[inatungulates]

Gray's spinner dolphin "Stenella" longirostris longirostris

Observed by nathancook, CC BY-NC

Features for recognizing the bridled dolphins, pt. 4: "typical" spinner dolphins

Apart from the Eastern Tropical Pacific, spinner dolphins throughout the rest of their pantropical range appear as more conventional bridled dolphins.

Useful features of pattern for ID:

"Three-tiered" coloration: a dark dorsal cape, mid-tone on the sides, and pale underside. This style of coloration is pretty typical for delphinids, but spinner dolphins are probably the most clear-cut example of it, giving them something of a "layer cake" appearance.

The dorsal cape may arch from behind the eye to dip down again below the dorsal fin, as in these individuals, or it may be fairly level.

The pale grey, white, or pinkish ventral coloration is usually crisply-demarcated from the medium-grey thoracic coloration, and often extends up above the dark pectoral flippers.

The thin lipline and beak tip are very dark.

There is usually not a prominent facial mask, but the thin lines of the bridle, running from the eye to the base of the rostrum and from the eye of the base of the flipper, are typically crisp.

Useful features of body shape for ID:

The rostrum is extremely long and thin. Apart from some forms (or species...) of common dolphin Delphinus delphis, spinners have the most elongate rostra of all delphinids, and the most teeth of any mammal.

Dorsal fin is erect and essentially triangular; unlike most dolphins it is only faintly falcate, if at all, and approaching their Eastern Tropical Pacific relatives may sometimes have a gentle forward cant. The dorsal fin is proportionally larger than in the ETP spinners, though.

These are overall fairly small, slightly-built, compact dolphins.

[felord]

STAT210-410 Assignment4-Dolphin-pacific Solved

In each assignment you will be able to earn up to 5 marks based on your engagement on the moodle Discussion forums from the topics associated with the given assignment. See the Assignment assessment criteria document for more details. Question 2 Spinner dolphins are a small delphinid that reside in subtropical and tropical waters. I collected data on spinner dolphins in Fiji to explore…

[c4n1ne]

A wild “wholfin,” the hybrid offspring of a melon-headed whale (Peponocephala electra), and a rough-toothed dolphin (Steno bredanensis) swimming next to a melon-headed whale (top) near Kauai, Hawaii.

[respectanimalrights]

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#Repost @maestro320v #ahasave @ahasave —— "Look Mom! No Dorsal Fin!" - 🔵@maestro320v 's Notes: Finding inspiration at 2am with this incredible footage of one of the rarely sighted cetaceans in our oceans, the Northern Right Whale Dolphins, was filmed onboard Discovery Whale Watch @discoverywhalewatch • The Northern Right Whale Dolphin (Lissodelphis borealis) is a small, slender and finless species of cetacean found in cold/ temperate waters of the North Pacific Ocean. It is one of two species of right whale dolphins. Together with the second species of Lissodelphis, Lissodelphis peronii, they are called right whale dolphins because similar to the right whales (Eubalaena) these dolphins also lack a dorsal fin. Northern right whale dolphins are fast swimmers. Their average swimming speed is around 26 km/h (16 mph) but they can reach speeds of up to 30–40 km/h (19-25 mph). When travelling fast, a group looks as though they are bouncing along on the water, as they make low, graceful leaps together, sometimes travelling as far as 7 m in one leap. They can dive up to 200 m (660 ft) deep in search of squid and fish, especially lanternfish. Additionally, L. borealis also feeds on other prey items, such as Pacific hake, saury and mesopelagic fish. Although northern right whale dolphins rarely approach boats, they sometimes engage in bow-riding behaviour. Furthermore, they are occasionally spotted doing acrobatics, such as breaching, belly-flopping, side slapping, and lobtailing. Unlike most delphinidae, L. borealis vocalise without the use of whistles. Visual and audio surveys have confirmed that vocalisation primarily consists of clicks and burst pulses. L. borealis have repetitive burst-pattern pulses that can be categorised and associated to different subgroups of L. borealis. These vocalisations may be used in the communication between individuals, in a similar way to signature whistles in other delphinid species. The evolutionary loss of whistling in L. borealis may have resulted from a number of factors, such as predator avoidance, school size or school species composition. (at The Ocean) https://www.instagram.com/p/CPbk80yhlYc/?utm_medium=tumblr