Northern Rightwhale Dolphin
Named after the much larger Northern Right Whale, the Northern Rightwhale Dolphin is found only in the northern part of the Pacific Ocean, Unlike their endangered namesakes, Northern Rightwhale Dolphins are in no danger of extinction.
The Northern Rightwhale Dolphin is the most streamlined of the dolphins. Its long, slender and mostly black body, combined with the absence of a dorsal fin, make it look like a torpedi. In fact, while it is seldom mistaken for another dolphin, it is sometimes mistaken for a seal. Rightwhale Dolphins are as long or longer than Common Dolphins (ranging up to nearly 10 feet or 3 meters) but weigh slihhtly less; in fact, they weigh about as much as humans do (130-220 pounds, or 60-100 kilograms).
Northern Rightwhale Dolphins are fast swimmers, noted for traveling in particularly large grups. Over 3000 of these dolphins have seen swimming together, and often the Rightwhale Dolphin will swim in mized pods with other species of dolphins. Breaching, lobtailing and flipper slapping are all common, but the Rightwhale Dolphin stays away from boats and thus seldom bow rides.
Did you know that the Northern Rightwhale Dolphin loves to “porposise”? Porpoising is the name give to the actions of dolphins which leap out of the water while swimming forward very fast. These leaps are sometime quite spectacular; in the case of the Northern Rightwhale Dolphin, leaps of up to 23 feer (7 meters) have been observed. Curiously enough, even though this kind of behavior is called porpoising, porpoises seldom do it.