          |
) |
|||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||
)
Pacific White-Sided DolphinsPacific white-sided dolphins (Lagenorhynchus obliquidens) are some of the more animated marine mammals, often leaping clear of the water and engaging in mid-air acrobatics. They grow to a length of 7.5 feet (2.3 meters) or more, and to a weight of 330 pounds (150 kg) or more. Their diet consists primarily of squid, sardines, herring and anchovies, and they eat approximately 20 pounds (9 kg) of food per day. They normally appear in groups, sometimes numbering in the hundreds or even over a thousand. Not much is known about their population in British Columbia waters, but at the present time they are not listed as endangered or threatened. Recent surveys off the coast of Washington State and Oregon have estimated a population of about 38,000 in those waters. Pacific white-sided dolphins can live to be 45 years old, and can swim at speeds of 14 miles per hour (22 km/hr) for 15 minutes at a time. They are very gregarious, curious and unafraid of human presence. Often confused with the common dolphin or Dall's porpoise, the Pacific white-sided dolphin has a streak, or stripe, of white or pale gray along its flanks and sides.
|
||||||||||
|
||||||||||
