Dolphins Atlantida, Swim with dolphins
Reserve Now
Book Your Dolphin Swim Now

Dolphins Diet & Eating Habits

In Dolphinaris we want to satisfy your curiosity about dolphins diet, we provide you in the following lines, with pretty complete info about dolphins eating habits for you to learn more about our marine friends.

Dolphins are active predators, a dolphin’s diet include a wide variety of fishes, squids, and crustaceans such as shrimps. The foods available to a dolphin vary with its geographic location

Adult bottlenose dolphins eat approximately 4% to 5% of their body weight in food per day. A nursing mother's daily intake is considerably higher: about 8%. A dolphin's stomach is compartmentalized for rapid digestion. It can also function as a crop when food is taken opportunistically.

Dolphin’s eating habits are flexible and they adapt to a dolphin's particular habitat and available food resources. Dolphins do not chew their food.

Usually they swallow fish whole, head first, so the spines of the fish won't catch in their throats. They break larger fish by shaking them or rubbing them on the ocean floor.

Hunting strategies are varied and diverse. Bottlenose dolphins often cooperate when hunting and catching fish, but they also feed on individual, nonschooling fishes. To hunt larger fishes, a bottlenose dolphin may use its tail flukes to kick a fish out of the water, then retrieve the stunned prey. Bottlenose dolphins often feed in association with fishing operations.

Diet ImageDiet ImageDiet Image

Dolphins in Texas bays frequently accompany shrimp boats. They feed on fishes that are caught incidentally in trawl nets intended for shrimps.