How to identify
- Stripes coming back from the eye to the dorsal fin and the tail stock
- Dark stripe from the eye towards the anal slit
- It tends to look a little front heavy
Where and when
A warm-water species primarily found far from shore in the deep waters off the continental shelf.
Around the UK, the species is a rare vagrant but is more common towards the Spanish coast.
Behaviour
It is an active species which can sometimes be found in association with Common Dolphin, but can be shy of vessels.
Usually found in large, tight, cohesive groups averaging between 25 and 100 individuals, but occasionally seen in larger groups of several hundred and even thousands of animals. Within these groups, there is a complex social system that may depend on age, sex, and breeding status.
Striped Dolphin feed throughout the water column on a diverse diet of fish and cephalopods (e.g. squid and octopus). They can dive to at least 700 metres.
Their surface behaviour can be described as athletic, energetic, active, and nimble with rapid swimming. They can often be observed breaching, jumping, or leaping many metres above the surface. Their characteristic leap and long distance in the air finishing with a belly flop, makes them fairly easy to identify (with practice) even at long distances, or when silhouetted.
Gallery
