Off to the Pacific Northwest! Above, Lagenorhynchus obliquidens. The Pacific white-sided dolphin, who are extremely social and playful, move in schools of thousands – though a sighting, like the one above, of hundreds or dozens is more common. These dolphin “have an unusually large, curved dorsal fin and are sometimes referred to as the “hookfin porpoise,” even though they are not porpoises. …The average adult Pacific white-sided dolphin weighs about 300-400 lbs and is between 5.5-8.0 feet” living up to 40 years. They can dive for more than six minutes to catch “squid and small schooling fish such as capelin, sardines, and herring.” Read more about the Pacific white-sided dolphin at NOAA.
Explore.org grants $50,000 to the Pacific Orca Society to conduct research and promote understanding of orca and other cetacean species. Check out more photos of NW marine life at explore.org here.
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