Reproduction of a dusky dolphins

Feeding

There are plenty of types of food that the Dusky Dolphin feeds upon. They include shrimp, squid, various fish, and anchovy. They can feed during the day or at night, and generally do so in highly sophisticated collaborative efforts. They are able to feed both at the surface of the water and at the bottom of it which gives them plenty of opportunities.

They tend to take part in efforts that involve up to 300 dolphins working as a team to successfully herd larger schools of fish. What is very interesting though is that they can change their strategies for foraging to fit the circumstances. Their communication each other is key to making sure they are able to get enough food for survival.

Reproduction

Spring is the time of year when the Dusky Dolphin is most likely to take part in mating. It takes about 11 months for the calf to be born. The males compete aggressively with each other in order to be able to mate with the females. There seems to be less involved with mating rituals with this species than with other dolphins. However, the bonds that do form seem to be apparent within a pod.

The age for matting seems to vary in different locations. It is believed that it could be determined based on food resources, stress, the length of the dolphin, and more. There needs to be additional research conducted to back up such theories. The females and their young will form nursery groups and they tend to stay in the water that is shallow so that they can rest.

The young will be fully weaned at about 18 months from the milk the mother produces. However, about 6 to 8 months of age they will be introduced to other food resources. They will be taught how to successfully hunt so that they can one day take care of their needs by contributing to the collaborative hunting efforts.

Conservation Status and Threats

It has been difficult to get a good count on the number of Dusky Dolphins in the wild. However, it is believed that they do endure huge losses of numbers due to getting tangled up with fishing nets or illegal harpoon hunting. Efforts to help with improving fishing methods has proved to be helpful. In Peru there is a huge demand for the meat of this dolphin and efforts to stop illegal killing can be difficult to implement even though it has been banned since 1996.

Some have been worried about the volumes of tourists that come to watch the dolphins around New Zealand. However, the experts don’t feel that this process has caused any major stress factors for the Dusky Dolphins to contend with. Studies that will help to identify environmental problems as well as to get a better count on the number of them are in progress. Right now, they aren’t in serious danger but hopefully conservation steps will also prevent their numbers from ever dropping low enough for them to be at risk of extinction.

(source:google/http://www.dolphins-world.com/)