Reproduction of a spinner dolphins

Reproduction

Females are ready to mate around 4 to 7 years of age. For males, it occurs later with an age between 7 and 10 years old. Mating rituals have been observed with the Spinning Dolphins. They tend to touch often and to pay plenty of attention to the one they plan to mate with. The time of year for mating depends on the location where these dolphins live. It is believed there are a couple of times a year when hormone levels increase which is when mating does occur.

After mating, it takes about 10 months before the single calf will arrive. The mature females give birth once approximately every 3 years. The young will be born tail first, which is the case with all dolphin young. They will grow very quickly consuming the milk from their mother. They will be completely weaned about 2 years of age.

They will be introduced to other food sources though around 6 months of age. The bonds between a mother and her young can last a lifetime. The average lifespan in the wild for Spinner Dolphins is 20 years.

Conservation Status and Threats

At this time, they are considered to be an endangered species due to pollutions diminishing. Some risks to them including getting injured or killed due to fishing nets in the water. Stress caused by human activities around them can create problems for Spinner Dolphins. Pollutant in the water has also become a concern such as chemicals and plastics.

There are some conservation efforts in place for the Spinner Dolphins. One of them involves better equipment for fishing due to so many of them getting tangled up in nets. Some of the fishing commercial entities follow these dolphins to find tuna and that increases the risk of them getting caught as well. The Dolphin Safe program in the USA has helped in this area.

Reducing stress in the environment due to boats and other elements have also been looked at. Reducing such threats is important but it can also prove to be very tricky as well. In areas of Hawaii, limits on where people can go during the day have also been looked at. It is believed the dolphins resting there were frequently having their sleep interrupted by humans and that was causing a great deal of stress for them.

Efforts to reduce pollution have been a primary focus for conservation. One of the threats that still needs to be addressed in hunting of them for sport or for meat in countries outside of the USA. Even though there are some efforts in motion to prevent such hunting, it does occur on a wide spectrum. It is hard to enforce protection from such hunting in many regions.

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