Dear reader,
Whalecome at the introduction of the whales of Skjálfandi bay part 4. After the blue whale, the porpoise and the minke whale lets introduce the white-beaked dolphin!
Latin
name: Lagenorhynchus albirostris
Common name: White-beaked
dolphin
Icelandic name:
Average life span: 30 – 40 years old
Diet: Fish, crustaceans and cephalopods
Size: 3.1 meters
Weight: 180-350kg
White-beaked dolphins are endemic to the North Atlantic ocean. They can
only be found from the north east coast of America and the north west of Europe
up to Spitsbergen. White-beaked dolphins are very social, they live in groups
called pods from 5 to 50 dolphins, during certain social aggregations these pods
can contain over 100 or even 1000 dolphins. White-beaked dolphins are also
known to have all male pods called ´alliances´ and all female pods called ´parties´.
They are fast swimmers they can reach speeds of 45km/h. When they are
travelling at speed they sometimes jump.
White-beaked dolphins reach sexual maturity round the age of 7, breeding season
is from May through September. The gestation period is 11 months, when the
calves are born they are 1 meter long and weigh 40kg.
Young white-beaked dolphins love to play in the wake of boats and larger
whales. They like it so much that they can even harass whales to swim faster so
they can play in the wake.
Each dolphin has a slightly different tone range, from which other dolphins can
understand who said something through clicks and whistles.
White-beaked dolphins stay in Skjálfandi bay throughout the year. During the summer months it is possible to see mother and calf pairs.
