The dusky dolphin is a small cetacean that belongs to the Delphinidae family and the genus Lagenorhynchus, which also includes other five species.

It has a distribution limited to the southern hemisphere of the planet, with subpopulations scattered throughout the southeast and southwest Atlantic and Pacific oceans, including waters of Tasmania, southern Australia, New Zealand, the Chatham and Campbell Islands, South America and the Falkland Islands.

It also dwells around oceanic islands such as Tristan da Cunha, a British archipelago in the South Atlantic. Some of the countries that have dusky dolphins in their waters are Australia, Argentina, Chile, New Zealand, Peru and South Africa.

They sometimes stay close to bottlenose dolphins, but there is no evidence of interaction between the two species, unlike Risso dolphins, with whom they share feeding areas or with common dolphins that show some social contact.

This dolphin stays close to the coast, but unlike others, the coasts where they inhabit do not have warm waters. It is common to observe this cetacean on continental platforms and slopes where the waters are cold, and the currents have low temperatures, more or less of 10 to 18 Celsius degrees. The observed range of this species suggests that it limits to depths less than 200 meters and about 200 nautical miles away from the coast.

Its range of distribution goes hand in hand with the habitat that can provide them a great abundance of prey, among which is the anchovy that is found very close to the surface in shallow waters, and benthic creatures such as squids, hake and various types of fishes.

The cold habitat in which it lives does not deter humans from harming this species. Years ago, its capture was very constant in New Zealand, Peru and Chile mainly. Now, this has diminished, but its population situation, and therefore, its current state of conservation, is unknown.

In the vast ocean, all creatures are vulnerable. Bottlenose dolphins are cetaceans that rarely become prey, thanks to their size, their intelligence, the use of echolocation and their level of socialization that gives them a significant advantage by staying in groups and intimidating their opponent. However, two predators will take the smallest opportunities to feed on dolphins: killer whales and sharks.

We know that the killer whales are expert hunters, especially when they hunt in organized groups. Although there are few documented cases, these animals that are the world’s largest dolphins, attack other species of smaller dolphins, mainly young, newborn or sick. To do it they separate the mother from the calf, making impossible to the latter defend its offspring.

However, a group of orcas does not feel intimidated by a large pod of dolphins. Although there are no records of this kind of attack to bottlenose dolphins, there are videos where a pod of killer whales approaches aggressively to groups of dolphins of other species, and as if they were seals, they beat them and throw them into the air until they are stunned and finally feed on them. Several types of dolphins suffer this kind of aggression, and the bottlenose dolphins are likely part of this list.

Regarding sharks, the most dangerous species for members of the genus Tursiops are the largest: tiger shark, sand shark, bull shark and, of course, the great white shark. It is not uncommon to observe dolphins with scars from shark attacks, which means they are not easy prey and their escape techniques often help them survive.

A study conducted in Shark Bay, Western Australia, revealed that 95 of 128 bottlenose dolphins analyzed showed scars from shark bites, mostly from tiger sharks. The frequency of new body marks and the high attack rates suggest that bottlenose dolphins are at risk in this locality more than in other parts of the world.

A few cases with rays are known. Although they are not dolphin predators because they have a diet based on small fish, mollusks, and plankton, the trauma and infections they cause with the sharp edges of their tail sometimes become deadly.

Popular Destinations

There are several places where you can travel to encounter with dolphins.

We will concentrate this time in the travel destinations within the American continent and Hawaii where you can travel to see dolphins.

However, there are several other travel destinations in the world where you can travel to see dolphins like Australia or New Zealand.

To start, you need to define the kind of encounter with dolphins you would like to have. Seated from the distance in an auditorium like most big aquariums or you can travel into the real dolphin habitat either to swim or watch them in places like Hawaii, Florida, Cancun, Bahamas or Baja.

This section is devoted to places for traveling to encounter with wild dolphins in their own habitat and in a different page we will be talking about the places to travel to see great aquariums and dolphinarums.

We include some operators which give such service. Although we do not endorse any of them, we provide a guide on how to pick your best option. Click here to read how to pick up the right dolphin tour.

Once you travel into dolphin’s territory, you have two tour options, you can watch dolphins from a boat, or you can get into the water andswim with dolphins.

United States.

Within the US, there are several places to see dolphins. The most common are:

Hawaii

Hawaii is one of the traditional places to travel to see dolphins and of course you can have a great vacation travel at the same time. You can arrange dolphin, turtle and whale watching or swimming with several providers.

If you decide to travel to Hawaii, some of them are:

• Dolphin Discoveries, Kona, Hawaii – Dolphin watching boat trips and snorkel diving.
• Exploration Company – Dolphin and whale watching boat tours and diving
• Holoholo Charters – Kauai – snorkeling tours, sightseeing tours, and whale watching tours to Na Pali and the Forbidden island of Niihau.
• Pacific Whale Foundation – Maui, Hawaii – Several different whale and dolphin watching tours and snorkeling tours.
• Sail Hawaii – Snorkeling, watching and swimming with dolphins tours in Oahu.

Florida

Another great place to travel to watch and swim with dolphins is Florida.

With great waters and wonderful weather, Florida is another place to travel to have great vacations besides dolphin encounters. The main place is the Florida Keys, but you can find other places in Florida to encounter with dolphins.

If you travel to Florida, some of the providers for dolphin swimming or watching are:

• Captain Seaweed Charters – Snorkeling tours in the Florida Keys.
• FunDay Eco-Tours- They have 16 interesting pre-made tours but the are only for pre-formed groups.
• Orlando DiveDiving tours for Orlando area.

Texas

Texas is not the most common place to travel to watch or swim with dolphins, but if you are visiting South Padre Island, you will find a Safari tour to watch dolphins.

If you are traveling to South Padre Island, you can contact:

• Colley’s Fins Photo Safaris – Dolphin encounters on South Padre Island.

Washington

If you are looking for the big dolphin guys, the killer whales, Washington is the place to travel to watch Orcas.

You can find Orca watching tours and several other whale watching or nature watching tours. If you travel to Washington you can contact one of these operators:

• Maya’s Whale Watching Tours – Whale watching tours of the San Juan Islands.
• Mosquito Fleet- Orca whale watching tours in the San Juan Islands, Puget Sound, and Seattle area.
• Orcas Island Eclipse Charters- Orca watching tours.
• Private Boat Tours- Custom guided wildlife tour in the San Juan Islands.

Mexico

Mexico is one of the greatest places to travel to watch dolphins or whales and have at the same time the best travel vacations of your life.

With great weather all the year, very affordable prices and amazing fun, Mexico is a great travel destination which can be combined with dolphin or whale watching.

Baja California (Baja)

Baja California is probably the best place in the world to travel to watch whales and most of the time you can get close enough to even touch whales. The whales season is only from January to April. If you travel to Baja, some of the whale watching providers are:

• Baja Whales- Visitors guide to San Ignacio Lagoon in Baja California, Mexico
• Gray Whale Watching In Baja- Whale watching in Baja.
• Mar Y Aventuras- Mexico – Whale watching expeditions from La Paz and Loreto, Baja, Mexico
• Navtec Expeditions- Sea kayaking and whale watching in the Sea of Cortez and Magdalena Bay, Baja

Puerto Vallarta

Puerto Vallarta is one of the greatest Mexican resorts to travel with wonderful hotels and beaches. You can combine there a wonderful vacation travel with dolphin and whale watching.

• Wildlife Connection -Dolphin, whale and turtle watching and tours.
• Discover Pacific Tours – Humpback whales and bottlenose dolphins tours.
• Cancun and the Mayan Riviera

Other wonderful place to see dolphins and have wonderful travel vacations is Cancun.

In Cancun you can have dolphin encounters under controlled conditions with captive dolphins or you can find watching and diving tours.

There are several places in Cancun and the Mayan riviera to swim with dolphins.

Canada

Canada is a place mainly to watch whales. If you travel to Canada, the most common places for whale watching are:

• British Columbia
• New Brunswick
• New foundland and Labrador
• Nova Scotia

Bahamas

Bahamas is a great place to traver for diving and watching dolphins. Bimini island is one of the places which has most tours. If you travel to Bahamas, you can contact:

• Bimini Tours- Dolphin watching and diving.

If you are planning your travel adventure to watch or swim with dolphins, don´t forget to print your destination miniguide.

Over the course of the last decade, swimming with the dolphins has become a popular, exciting and somewhat expensive pasttime.

As just about anything having to do with dolphins these days, swimming with dolphins have come under fire of animal activist groups and dolphin lovers alike. Most of the critics of this pasttime believe that swimming with dolphins are simply exploiting these beautiful creatures for profit while others believe that the dolphins are enjoying the visits as much as their human counterparts.

Lately, swimming with dolphins are being conducted in almost every corner of the world. In some cases, swimming with dolphins are actually performed in the ocean with wild dolphins while others are being conducted in more controlled aquarium environments.

The strongest criticism is directed at the aquariums that are holding dolphins in captivity.

More often than not, it’s the captive concept that angers animal rights activists rather than swimming with dolphins itself. Since science seems to have proven that dolphins are not happy or well adjusted when living in captivity, we’d like to suggest that if at all possible, dolphin enthusiasts avoid contributing to this type of entertainment. If you’re considering swimming with dolphins, visiting them in their own environment as they guest seems much more humane.

In the ocean, dolphins have the choice of interacting or not, consequently if they’re sticking around and seem to be satisfying their own curiosity, dolphin swims seem harmless.

It is important, however, to make sure that the company you decide to use as a tour guide is reputable in any sense and respectful of the environment.

The reputable companies to hire for swimming with dolphins will have rules that are made to protect the dolphins and their habitat. For example, most wild swim tours forbid touching or feeding the dolphins.

This is their way of making sure that the dolphins stay wild and do not become dependent upon their human visitors. While some operators will use different tactics to lure the dolphins, avoid those who circle or chase them when they’ve left the swimmers behind.

Try and find a tour operator that limits his groups to 6-10 people. Large groups of 20 or more are an invasion rather than a visit.

Keep in mind that reputable tour operators will leave the interaction decisions up to the dolphins themselves. Dolphins notoriously have short attention spans and interactions will normally last less than an hour and a half.

Good programs will also own their own boats and will offer tours that are long enough to allow the opportunity to interact with the dolphins on their time frame rather than ours.

There are even some programs that will actually allow you to live on board, basically meaning that you stay on the boat for your entire stay, a few days or even a week, but that will depend on your interests and the kind of vacation you would like to have.

If you are planning your travel adventure to watch or swim with dolphins, don´t forget to print your destination miniguide from travelocity to have the greatest fun.