Bottlenose dolphin Facts for Kids
Tursiops truncatus · TUR-see-ops trun-KAY-tus
Each dolphin has its own whistle that works like a name.
- 🏃 speed: not yet checked
- ⚖️ 300 to 1,400 lb136 to 635 kg1
- 📏 5.9 to 13 ft1.8 to 4 m1 long
- 🎂 40 to 60 years40 to 60 years1
- 🍽️ fish
- Doing fine (Least Concern)
Dolphins are smart mammals that live in the sea. They breathe air through a hole on top of their head. They live in groups called pods and love to leap!
A dolphin makes clicks and listens for the echoes that bounce back, which tells it what is around it, even in dark or muddy water. This is called echolocation. Each dolphin also has its own signature whistle, which may work like a name.
Bottlenose dolphins are mammals, so they breathe air and feed their calves milk. When they sleep, only half of the brain rests at a time, so they can keep coming up for breath. Dolphins in a pod work together to find fish, and some groups have learned special tricks that they pass on to their young. In one bay in Australia, some dolphins carry sea sponges on their snouts to protect them while they search the sea floor.
How big is a bottlenose dolphin?
Bottlenose dolphin in numbers
| Length | 5.9 to 13 ft1.8 to 4 m1 |
|---|---|
| Height at the shoulder | no checked number yet |
| Weight | 300 to 1,400 lb136 to 635 kg1 |
| Top speed | no checked number yet |
| How long it lives | 40 to 60 years40 to 60 years1in the wild |
| What it eats | fish, squid and shrimp |
| Where it lives | warm and mild seas all over the world, near the shore and far out |
| What kind | Mammals |
| Is it in danger? | Doing fine (Least Concern)2 |
A number we couldn’t find on a page we trust says so, instead of guessing.
Wow!
- A dolphin sleeps with half of its brain awake.
- Dolphins use clicks and echoes to see with sound.
- Some dolphins wear sponges on their snouts while they search the sea floor.
Compare the bottlenose dolphin
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West Indian manateeThree questions
Books about the bottlenose dolphin, free at the library
Ask a grown-up to tap the button: it shows where to borrow a book about the bottlenose dolphin for free.
Where these numbers come from
- NOAA Fisheries, checked 30 October 2026.
- Wikidata, from the IUCN Red List, checked 30 October 2026.
- Wikidata, Bottlenose dolphin (Q174199), checked 30 October 2026.