Frequently Asked Questions

After feeding on mother's milk the first few weeks, calves begin eating fish at 3 to 4 months and are weaned at 12 to 18 months. Dolphins feed on all kinds of fish and crustaceans with adults eating 13 to 14 pounds of fish a day or 20 pounds or more in colder winter waters.

In captivity, dolphins have lived as long as 40 years. In the wild, though, scientists believe they only live 25 to 30 years. Mature female dolphins will give birth every 2 to 3 years and could give birth as many as eight times during their lifetimes. They can give birth at any time of year but most commonly calve in the spring and summer. Females mature sexually at 8 years of younger and dolphins are sexually promiscuous with males competing for females.

Dolphin calves, usually born in the spring, are 2.5- to 3-feet long and 25- to 40-pounds. Feeding on its mother's milk, a calf will double in size in  the first few weeks. Adult males are larger than females. The Mid-Atlantic dolphins will reach 7 to 10 feet in length and 300 to 500 pounds by their early teens.

Traveling as much as they do, dolphins must rest some time. They don't sleep, though. They merely take cat naps at the ocean's surface for two or three minutes at a time. At night, those naps increase to seven or eight minutes.