Dolphins are air-breathing mammals, this means that about 99.9% of the time, when they surface to breathe, their dorsal fin is visible. For our photo-identification efforts, this makes capturing a photo of a fin relatively easy. Let’s consider, however, how one would identify bottlenose dolphins if a dorsal fin was not visible.

Wild Dolphin UpdatesThe Bromance of Bottlenose DolphinsHave you ever wanted to hang out with your best friend all the time? Many male bottlenose dolphins get to do this every day! These strong friendships or associations, known as pair bonds, are a common,...

Wild Dolphin Updates Dorsal Fin Use The dorsal fin helps us identify dolphins in our photo ID survey, but let’s think about how it functions to serve a dolphin. Balance The placement of the dorsal fin is thought to stabilize the dolphin in the water like a keel on a...