Right whale dolphin facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Right whale dolphins
Northern species, Lissodelphis borealis
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Artiodactyla
Infraorder:	Cetacea
Family:	Delphinidae
Subfamily:	Lissodelphininae
Genus:	Lissodelphis Gloger, 1841
Type species
Delphinus peronii Lacépède, 1804
Species
L. borealis Peale, 1848 L. peronii Lacépède, 1804
Northern and southern right whale dolphin ranges

Right whale dolphins are amazing marine mammals that belong to a group called Lissodelphis. There are two types: the northern right whale dolphin and the southern right whale dolphin. These dolphins are mostly black with white undersides. They are special because they don't have a dorsal fin, which is the fin usually found on a dolphin's back. They are smaller and very sleek members of the oceanic dolphin family. Even though scientists have known about them for a long time (since 1848 for the northern type and 1804 for the southern type), we still have much to learn about their lives and habits.

What Do They Look Like?

Size comparison with a human (northern species)

Both types of right whale dolphins have slim bodies. They have small, pointed flippers and a small tail, called a fluke. What makes them really stand out is that neither species has a dorsal fin. This is a fin that usually sticks up from a dolphin's back. This unique feature might be why they are called "right whale dolphins," as right whales also lack this fin. The northern right whale dolphin is the only dolphin in the Pacific Ocean without a dorsal fin. Similarly, the southern species is the only finless dolphin in the southern part of the world.

You can tell the two species apart by how much white they have. Both have white bellies. However, the southern species has much more white. This white color covers their sides, flippers, snout (beak), and even their forehead.

Size and Growth

Northern male dolphins grow to about 220 centimeters (about 7 feet) long. Females are a bit smaller, reaching about 200 centimeters (about 6.5 feet). Both males and females become adults around 10 years old. When they are born, baby right whale dolphins are about half the size of their parents. The southern species is usually larger, growing up to 250 centimeters (over 8 feet) long. They can weigh up to 100 kilograms (about 220 pounds). Northern dolphins weigh a bit less, around 80 to 90 kilograms (176 to 198 pounds). These dolphins can live for about 40 years.

How Smart Are They?

Northern right whale dolphins are very intelligent creatures. Scientists use something called an encephalization quotient to guess how smart an animal might be. For these dolphins, this number is 5.55. This is one of the highest scores for any living animal, second only to humans!

Where Do They Live?

Northern Right Whale Dolphins

The northern right whale dolphin lives across the cool parts of the North Pacific Ocean. You can find them from the Kamchatka Peninsula and Japan in the west. Their range extends all the way to British Columbia and down to the Baja California Peninsula in the east. We are not sure if they travel long distances like some other animals. However, people have seen them near the California coast during winter and spring. They seem to follow their favorite food, squid, closer to shore then. They are usually found far out in the open ocean, which is called being pelagic. There isn't a total count of all northern right whale dolphins. But, about 14,000 of them are thought to live near the North American coast.

Southern Right Whale Dolphins

The southern right whale dolphin lives all around the world in the Southern Hemisphere. They are found in a wide band between about 40 and 55 degrees south latitude. They are often seen in the Tasman Sea, which is between Australia and New Zealand.

Amazing Behaviors

Right whale dolphins lack dorsal fins. This picture shows the northern species. Only their bellies are white, which are hidden from this view.

Both types of right whale dolphins love to be with others. They travel in large groups called pods, sometimes with hundreds of dolphins. Occasionally, these groups can grow to include as many as 3,000 individuals! These large groups might also include other marine animals. In the south, they sometimes swim with dusky dolphins and pilot whales. In the north, they might join Pacific white-sided dolphins.

These dolphins are incredibly fast swimmers. They can zoom through the water at speeds over 40 kilometers per hour (about 25 miles per hour). They can be very playful, leaping out of the water (breaching) or slapping their tails. Other times, they can be very quiet and hard to spot in the ocean. When they swim fast, they can leap gracefully up to 7 meters (about 23 feet) across the water's surface.

Usually, these dolphins try to stay away from boats. However, sometimes they have been seen riding the waves created by a boat's front. This is called bow-riding.

Sometimes, dolphins get stuck on land, which is called stranding. A rare stranding of a northern right whale dolphin happened on June 9, 2018. A female dolphin, about 5.5 feet long, was found on Manzanita Beach in Oregon. There was also one time when 77 southern right whale dolphins stranded together on Chatham Island.

Protecting These Dolphins

The southern right whale dolphin faces challenges from some fishing activities. The northern species has never been specifically hunted for profit. However, in the 1980s, many northern right whale dolphins were accidentally caught. They got tangled in large fishing nets called gillnets that floated in the ocean. Sadly, tens of thousands of them died this way. The United Nations banned these gillnets in 1993. People who care about conservation work hard to make sure these bans stay in place.

Challenges in Captivity

Scientists and aquariums have tried to keep right whale dolphins in captivity. Sadly, these attempts have not been successful. Almost all of the dolphins died within three weeks of being brought into aquariums. This shows how difficult it is to care for these special animals outside of their natural ocean home.

See also

In Spanish: Lissodelphis para niños