10 exciting facts about common dolphins

1. As the name suggests, common dolphins are the most common dolphin species in the world. 2. There are 2 species of common dolphin - short-beaked and long-beaked, however, the common dolphins found around the UK are the short-beaked species. 3. Common dolphins are easily recognisable by their characteristic creamy-yellow and grey hourglass pattern along their sides with a dark grey back and pale underside. 4. They are one of the smaller members of the dolphin family with adults measuring 1.7-2.7 metres in length and weighing up to 135kg. 5. They are fast swimmers reaching speeds of 15mph and are highly energetic, acrobatic dolphins. Their leaping and splashing can be seen from great distances. 6. Common dolphins are often attracted to boats and can be seen bow riding the pressure waves of fast moving boats and even large whales, sometimes even changing course to do so. 7. They are highly vocal and their high-pitched squeals can often be heard easily above the surface. 8. In Europe common dolphins tend to travel in groups of around 20 but can be seen in larger groups of over 100 and in other parts of the world they have been known to congregate in groups of several hundreds, even thousands! 9. They are opportunistic feeders eating a wide variety of squid and fish but mainly feed on schooling fish, working collectively to dive fish into bait balls near the surface. This feeding strategy often attracts gannets so if you see diving gannets, this could be an indicator of dolphins feeding. 10. As they feed on the same fish species that fisheries target, common dolphins face the risk of accidental by-catch and net entanglement causing them to become injured or drown. Buying line-caught fish is not only more sustainable for fish stocks, but is also safer for dolphins and other sealife.