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Los Angeles Common Dolphin Watching |
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 Southern California Common Dolphin Description
Seeing a Common Dolphin leap out of the water or riding their wakes alongside our boats while dolphin watching in the Newport Beach area is sight that commonly brings joyful excitement to our guests. These innately friendly creatures are quite beautiful. To the naked eye, they appear to be a solid gray color, but closer observations reveal an exquisite range of gray hues from head to tail. These gray colors blend to create a beautiful “V”-shaped design located just below the dorsal fin. These intricate gray bodies are complemented by the beige areas underneath head and dorsal fin, and a white belly.
It might be a surprise for some to know that there are in fact two types of Common dolphins: the “short-beaked” Common Dolphin and “long-beaked” Common Dolphin. The differentiating trait between these two kinds of dolphins is the size of their foreheads and peak of their beaks. In respective terms, the “long-beaked” Common dolphin has a small forehead that meets the beak at a smooth angle; whereas the “short-beaked” Common dolphin’s forehead is wider and joins the beak at a more angular way.
Southern California Common Dolphin Behavior
Common Dolphins are “people-creatures” because they are able to confidently interact with humans. These creatures seem to enjoy entertaining crowds by jumping out of the water or by wake-riding in sync with passing boats. Speaking of keeping pace with moving boats, these Common dolphins can reach extraordinary speeds---as much as 25 to 30 mph! Legend has it, that these dolphins learned to “wake-ride” by first riding on top of whales that would swim aside the bows of ships on their own “wakes”. Eventually, these dolphins developed this mimicry trait.
As mischievous as Common Dolphins are in front of humans, so too are they amongst each other. When together, they act like overactive school children, loving to jump and play. But this affection for one another goes deeper than just playfulness. Common dolphins are actually very caring and community-oriented. Characteristically, they swim and live in pods, or groups, of no less than 50 dolphins on average. And it is not rare for thousands of Common Dolphins to cohabitate in a one pod. Incredibly, they will also nurse their sick, show signs of mourning or longing for their deceased, and act as mentors and second mothers to each other’s calves.
Common dolphins prefer to swim in coastal, temperate waters. When they aren’t working to keep pace with moving boats, Common dolphins are laid-back travelers, moving at about 6 miles an hour. But they can swim much as 100 miles in one day!
Southern California Common Dolphin Feeding Habits
Since they live in groups, Common Dolphins naturally hunt and eat in groups too. They enjoy consuming fish like sardines, anchovies, and herring. Occasionally, these dolphins will also eat small octopuses and squid. And although it may take over an hour just to find one satisfying meal of fish, it is normal for an adult Common Dolphin to feed on as much as 20 pounds of fish in a single day! These dolphins prey mainly on schools of fish. They will start by swimming right into a group of them, quickly grabbing at the fish and swallowing each one entirely. In a fitting display of showmanship, these dolphins will periodically show off their hunting skills by swimming beneath a school of fish, scaring each one out of the water, and finally ingesting it whole in mid-air.
Because Common Dolphin calves are born without the ability to chew on fish and other meaty sea life, they must be nursed by their mothers for nourishment. While they do develop teeth by the time they are six months old, calves will continue to drink their mothers’ milk until they are a year and a half old because the mother’s milk is very rich in protein and fat. In fact, a calf can double in size---growing from a birth weight of 20-lbs to 40-lbs by the time they are 18-months old, the average age of weaning. Amazingly, these calves are also not born with any lips and therefore cannot suckle on their mothers’ teats to be fed. Rather, these young dolphins must rely on their mother to squeeze the milk directly into their mouths, which the mother does by contracting her muscles.
We provide our Newport Beach Dolphin Watching dolphin and whale watching tours seven days a week with tours at 12 p.m. and 3 p.m. Our tours are very popular so it is never a bad idea to arrive a little early. Tours usually last from two to two and a half hours. Prices for tickets are as follows:
Individual Ticket Prices – Two Hour to 2 ½ Hour Cruise
Adults $30
Seniors (62 and over) $25
Children (11 and under) $18
Children (2 and under) FREE!
Ticket Prices for groups of 25 or more.
Adults $22
Seniors (62 and over) $18
Children (11 and under) $12
Children (2 and under) FREE!
You can order your tickets online by clicking the button, or calling 562-432-4900. If you have a discount coupon, please present it at the ticket booth.
We appreciate the opportunity to make Newport Beach Dolphin Watching your choice for dolphin and whale watching in the southern California area. We offer plenty of parking and are located next to The Aquarium of the Pacific. We are also very close to area attractions such as the Long Beach Lighthouse and Queen Mary as well as excellent shopping and dining so you can make a day of it. No matter the age, a dolphin watching cruise is a fun and exciting adventure that anyone can enjoy. We can’t wait to exceed your expectations and show you why we are the best dolphin watching in southern California experience possible.
For more information on other Southern California Dolphins and Whales, please click on the link below:
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