Mission Statement

The Wild Dolphin Project is a non-profit scientific research organization that studies and reports on a specific pod of free ranging Atlantic spotted dolphins (Stenella frontalis). Since 1985, Denise Herzing has been studying dolphin communication in the wild. Objectives of this long-term, non-invasive field research on wild dolphins are to gather information on the natural history of these dolphins, including dolphin behaviors, social structure, dolphin communication, and habitat; and to report what we have learned to the scientific community and the general public.

Media Coverage

In the Field

Recent Tweets

Other Happenings

Interested in Careers in Marine Mammal Science?
Visit the Society for Marine Mammalogy Careers page for more information.

Did You Know

  • Spotted dolphin calves are unspotted and look like young bottlenose dolphins.
  • Spotted dolphins regurgitate hard, indigestible parts of their food, such as squid beaks and fish vertebrae.
  • As spotted dolphins grow up they learn how to behave from their mothers and also from siblings, peers, and elders in the society.
  • Juvenile spotted dolphins babysit younger spotteds.
  • As a spotted dolphin grows up, its role and responsibilities in the dolphin community change Sometimes spotted dolphins travel, forage for food, and socialize with bottlenose dolphins.
  • Atlantic spotted dolphins are relatively unstudied, compared to their pan-tropical cousins who have been slaughtered in the tuna nets.
  • Spotted dolphins use their signature whistles in many different ways, including initiating contact with other dolphins. Spotted dolphins can be identified over long periods of time by spot patterns, by flukes, and by dorsal fins.

Education

Interested in Learning About Marine Animals?
Check out this new iPad app developed by Duke University in itunes. Look under Atlantic spotted dolphins for our information.

For Kids

Dolphin Word Puzzle Search
Answer the questions and search for their answers in the wordsearch puzzle. All the clues and answers to the questions can be found throughout the website. Have fun!

Dolphin Food Pyramid
Match the names of prey to their pictures
Print and color the Dolphin Food Pyramid. Try to match the names of the prey to their pictures.

Dolphin Picture
Print this beautiful picture and color it! Try to think of the other animals that share the ocean with the dolphins and draw them in. Are there predators in your picture, food for the dolphins to eat, or researchers, like those at Wild Dolphin Project, taking pictures and videotaping the dolphins?

Copyright © 2011 - 2016. The Wild Dolphin Project. All Rights Reserved.