Description

The Atlantic White-sided dolphin is found in the offshore waters of the northern Atlantic Ocean, frequently in pods numbering in the hundreds. Breeding groups are often separate from the immature and newly mature individuals.

Females become sexually mature at 5 to 8 years of age, males at 6 years. Calves are born in June and July after a gestation period of 11 months. The calving cycle appears to be every 2 to 3 years. White-sided dolphin calves, like all cetacean young, are generally born tail first. This position keeps the calf from drowning during the birth process. Once free (the umbilical cord is broken), the calf immediately swims to the surface, often aided by its mother, for its first breath of air.

The cow will lactate (produce milk) for up to eighteen months. The calf nurses from one of two teats on the cow's underbelly (halfway between the tips of the flippers to the trailing margin of the tail flukes). The milk is not sucked by the calf, but is squirted into the calf's mouth by the cow.

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