WWF pleas for legal protection for snubfin dolphins.

Almost cartoon-like in appearance, it’s impossible to resist a smile when you see the beautiful Australian snubfin dolphin. The Australian Snubfin Dolphin does not have a beak that protrudes outwards, and its head contains a slight neck crease to separate itself from the rest of the body.

The Bottlenose Dolphin is commonly seen in groups or pods, containing anything from two or three individuals to more than a thousand. The range of the species is expected to extend to Papua New Guinea; that is, O. heinsohni is endemic to the northern half of the Sahul Shelf, but the majority live in Australian waters. Other threats include habitat destruction (particularly mangroves and seagrass), pollution, boat strike, and incidental capture in shark control programs. Habitat. The Australian snubfin dolphin (Orcaella heinsohni) is a dolphin found off the northern coasts of Australia. Habitat. The discovery of the Australian snubfin – previously thought to be an Irrawaddy dolphin – is extremely rare, particularly when many species today are heading towards extinction. Deforestation along the river also reduces the quality of the river which ruins the dolphins’ habitat. Two forms of Bottlenose Dolphin are currently recognised - the 'inshore' form and the 'offshore' form, which could possibly be different species. The Bottlenose Dolphin lives in coastal waters and oceans. 7. The dolphins are also threatened by habitat destruction resulting from increased commercial development along the Australian coast. Males are typically larger than females that reach 2.3m in length and weigh 114kg. Summary. Its back is a grayish-brown color, while the sides of its body are slightly lighter than that color, and underneath the snubfin dolphin … Australian snubfin dolphins inhabit shallow coastal waters up to 30 m deep and 23 km from the coast. A new species of dolphin was found in Australia’s northern waters in 2005. One of the main threats to snubfin dolphins is incidental capture from netting, especially gill nets set to catch fish such as barramundi and threadfins in QLD. Up until 2005, Australian snubfin dolphins were believed to be an isolated population of the equally charming Irrawaddy dolphins.Now we know that they are in fact their own separate species and researchers are working hard to learn more about their lives. The largest dolphin species (the orca) grows to more than 30 feet long while the smallest, Hector's dolphin, is just 4.5 feet in length.

The dolphin in its habitat. Dolphins (Odontoceti) are a group of 44 species of toothed whales or cetaceans.There are dolphins in every ocean on Earth, and there are freshwater species of dolphins that inhabit rivers in South Asian and South American. They are rarely seen in waters deeper than 20 m. Groups of Australian snubfin dolphins are often found adjacent to river and creek mouths. Threats to Snubfin Dolphins. Australian Snubfin Dolphin (Orcaella heinsohni) The Australian Snubfin dolphins populate the northern waters of Australia. Australian waters support a large number of whale species. Australian snubfin dolphin: Pygmy killer whale: Spectacled porpoise: False killer whale: Bottlenose dolphin: Whale habitat in Australian waters. Snubfin dolphin Scientific name: Orcaella heinsohni Formally known as Irrawaddy dolphin the Australian snubfin dolphins were recognized as a genetically separate species in 2005. In the Pacific Ocean off Townsville, about 200 individual snubfin dolphins were found. DISTINGUISHING FEATURES Snubfin dolphins grow up to 2.7m and weigh 133kg. Despite the myriad threats against them, snubfin dolphins currently receive virtually no … The Australian snubfin dolphin (Orcaella heinsohni) is a dolphin found off the northern coasts of Australia. Snubfin dolphins are characterised by a […]