Pacific humpback dolphin (SciiFii)

The Pacific humpback dolphin (Sousa hawaiiensis) is a species of humpback dolphin that originally did not exist, but SciiFii and introduced throughout the Californian Great Barrier Reef to help boost biodiversity. The closest living relative of the Pacific humpback dolphin is the Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin (Sousa chinensis). An adult Pacific humpback dolphin is grey, white or pink and may appear as an albino dolphin to some. Populations along the coasts of California and Oregon have been observed with pink skin. The pink colour originates not from a pigment, but from blood vessels which were overdeveloped for thermoregulation. The body length is 2 to 3.5 meters (6 feet 7 inches to 11 feet 6 inches) for adults 1 meters (3 feet 3 inches) for infants. An adult weighs 150 to 230 kg (330 to 510 lb). Pacific humpback dolphins live up to 40 years. Calves are dark grey or black at birth and measure around 1 meters (3.3 feet) in length. Their coloration lightens through a mottled grey as they age. Pacific humpback dolphins live in small groups, generally with fewer than ten individuals. They hunt as a group using echolocation. The Pacific humpback dolphin's main diet consists of mullet and other fish. Adult Pacific humpback dolphins come to the water surface to breathe for 20 to 30 seconds before diving deep again, for three to ten minutes. Pacific humpback dolphin calves, with smaller lung capacities, surface twice as often as adults, staying underwater for one to three minutes. Adult Pacific humpback dolphins rarely stay under water for more than four minutes. They sometimes leap completely out of the water. They may also rise up vertically from the water, exposing the dorsal half of their bodies. A pair of protruding eyes allows them to see clearly in both air and water. Female dolphins reach sexual maturity at around seven years old, and males mature around the same age. They usually mate from the end of summer to autumn, and calves are born after a gestation period of eleven months. The mother stays with her calf until it can find food for itself, usually when it reaches 3–4 years old. The conservation status of of the Pacific humpback dolphin is Least Concern due to successful conservation efforts, the Pacific humpback dolphin's wide range and its much greater tolerance to human activities than any other species of humpback dolphins, being as tolerant to human activities as bottlenose dolphins.
Category:Animals
Category:Species
Category:SciiFii