Why are the Bottlenose Dolphins becoming endangered?

They are one of the most well-known species. There are two different types as bottlenose dolphin and Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin. The common bottlenose dolphins are found around the world in tropical and temperature oceans. Bottlenose dolphins develop complex survival skills at a very early age.

Although mating occurs the entire year, in British waters, the birth happens mostly between May and November. One calf is born after a year’s gestation; it survives on a mile for around 18 to 20 months. (See Why are Zoos important?)

They live off fish, including hake, trout bass, sandeels, etc. They also eat cephalopods and crustaceans. Bottlenose dolphins work together to herd their prey to the surface for easy feeding. They live very close to the surface, so they have various threats from other animals. (See Why are zoos bad for animals?)

Dolphins face many natural dangers. They serve as prey to orcas and other massive sharks. In addition to this, there are numerous other threats caused to them because of environmental and human activities. Some of the significant ones are-

a) Pollution

This is one of the biggest problems is the polluting of the environment. Oil and chemical spill contamination destroys the natural habitat of dolphins. Every day loads of garbage are thrown in the sea, which includes industrial and chemical wastes. These are toxic elements that harm them considerably.

b) Climate Change

When there are adverse climatic changes, it affects the bottlenose dolphins immensely. When the temperature of the water increases, it also affects the ocean currents and changes are feeding grounds, migratory pathways, and prey distribution. Dolphins cannot adopt these changes quickly; thus, it is also a significant threat to them.

c) Illegal Fishing

This is again a significant threat by humans to the dolphins. Various people capture them and sell them in the market to the highest bidder. It has been seen that there are an array of fishermen who use illegal ways to catch fishes.

d) Noise Pollution & Sea Traffic

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Noise pollution as well as a significant threat to dolphins. Other activities like navigational sonars, oil drilling, and even ship engines create continuous underwater sounds, damaging or reducing their hearing abilities. They rely a lot on their sense of hearing as they use echolocation to protect themselves from predators, locating their prey, and hunting.

e) Modern Fishing

The techniques used today are entirely different from the ones used previously. Dolphins are susceptible to entanglement and discarded fishing gears. Therefore, entanglement leads to the drowning of dolphins, leading to their death as they cannot breathe underwater.

f) Captivity

Dolphins are captured for various reasons such as research & development, entertainment purpose, and selling. Because of the tourist attraction and their interaction, they have become even more famous, and thus people have started capturing them. It has been stated that there are a lot of dolphins who die during transportation.