Cetacean Photos
Cetaceans: Whales,
Dolphins and Porpoises
Here
is a
handsome profile of a young male bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus).
The bottom jaw of this species extends out past the upper jaw, however in this
animal it is even more pronounced than in most individuals.
Here
he is again. You can see the lower jaw even better. His
father's lower jaw extends out just like this. It's an individual genetic
trait inherited from his father. Trainers and scientists often use such traits to help tell one individual
animal from another.
Here
is a very sweet female bottlenose dolphin getting an affectionate chin
rub from her trainer. She is over 40 years old and going
strong! This is a remarkable age for any dolphin, either in the wild or in
human care.
We
liked this photo so much we used it to make our original DolphinTrainer.com
logo. We think it's a nice way of honoring a great animal and the people who
have taken such wonderful care of her over the years.
These
four dolphins are blowing bubbles from the blowholes located on the tops of
their heads. These guys may look familiar as well. This photo was
used to make the Title Banner at the top of each page on our website.
Here
is a shot of a mother dolphin and her new born baby. Young calves stay very
close to their mothers. As the mother moves through the water the calf is
actually pulled along in the mother's "slip stream". This helps
the baby so it doesn't have to work so hard to keep up with mom and the other dolphins.
This
calf is quite a bit older and larger than the one above. Calves grow rapidly on
mother's milk which is very concentrated and high in fat content. In this
photo, the mother's milk swollen mammary glands are visible just above the tip
of the calf's dorsal fin.

After several weeks the calves begin to exercise more and more
independence. Like the adults, they are very curious and, over time ,
begin to interact with the trainers and staff through the windows.
Killer
whales (Orcinus orca) are actually the largest members of the dolphin
family, Delphinidae. They are incredibly powerful and agile animals. This
one is leaping out of the water performing a "back dive"
behavior.
Trainer's
spend a great deal of their time interacting with and developing strong
relationships with all of their animals. Spectacular behaviors likes this
are the result of these mutually respectful and trusting relationships.
Killer
whales get their name and awesome reputation from their natural position as the
oceans' top predator. For more information on this fascinating subject
check out our feature article "A Killer Reputation".
Beluga
whales (Delphinapterus leucas) are not dolphins. They are in the
same family as narwhals, the family Monodontidae. Some people call them
"white whales" due to their obvious color. Some sailors used to
call them "sea canaries" due to their high-pitched underwater
vocalizations.
This
cute little guy is a finless porpoise (Neophocaena phocaenoides).
There are about six different species of porpoises in the family,
Phocoenidae.
Porpoises
differ from dolphins in several ways. One way is their teeth. Most
porpoises have flat triangular teeth. Dolphins have conical shaped
teeth. Most dolphins have curved dorsal fins. Most porpoises have
triangular shaped dorsal fins. This particular species has no dorsal fins, hence
the name finless porpoise.