Delphinidae (Oceanic Dolphins)

Species in this group

Orcinus orca

Daily sighting probability ~70% · Very likely

LC

Stenella attenuata

Daily sighting probability ~50% · Likely

LC

Tursiops truncatus

Daily sighting probability ~40% · Likely

Endemic

Tursiops erebennus

Daily sighting probability ~30% · Possible

LC

Delphinus delphis

Daily sighting probability ~30% · Possible

EN

Sotalia fluviatilis

Daily sighting probability ~30% · Possible

NT

Tursiops aduncus

Daily sighting probability ~20% · Possible

LC

Grampus griseus

Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck

NT

Cephalorhynchus heavisidii

Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck

LC

Globicephala melas

Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck

EN

Sousa plumbea

Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck

LC

Stenella longirostris

Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck

VU

Sousa sahulensis

Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck

LC

Lagenorhynchus albirostris

Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck

NT

Pseudorca crassidens

Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck

EN Endemic

Cephalorhynchus hectori

Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck

LC

Globicephala macrorhynchus

Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck

See all 17 species Show fewer

Daily sighting probability by month

Probability-weighted average across the group's species

~20%

Jan

~20%

Feb

~30%

Mar

~30%

Apr

~30%

May

~20%

Jun

~30%

Jul

~20%

Aug

~20%

Sep

~20%

Oct

~20%

Nov

~20%

Dec

When they're spotted

When the group's species are recorded (aggregated)

Where to see Oceanic Dolphins

Warmer areas are where this group is recorded most often. Shaded: the known ranges of its 36 species, darker where more of them overlap (Mammal Diversity Database, Marsh et al. 2022). Our parks Our cities In captivity: 111 zoos & centres

Parks Ranked

#	Park	Country	Species	Daily sighting probability
1	Kenai Fjords National Park	🇺🇸 United States	1 of 17	~70%
	Killer Whale			~70%
2	Bahía de Loreto National Park	🇲🇽 Mexico	3 of 17	~60%
	Bottlenose Dolphin			~40%
	Common Dolphin			~30%
	Killer Whale			~10%
3	Península Valdés	🇦🇷 Argentina	1 of 17	~60%
	Killer Whale			~60%
4	Channel Islands National Park	🇺🇸 United States	4 of 17	~60%
	Common Dolphin			~30%
	Bottlenose Dolphin			~20%
	Risso's Dolphin			~10%
	Killer Whale			~10%
5	Coiba National Park	🇵🇦 Panama	1 of 17	~50%
	Pantropical Spotted Dolphin			~50%
6	Piedras Blancas National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	2 of 17	~50%
	Bottlenose Dolphin			~30%
	Pantropical Spotted Dolphin			~20%
7	Fiordland National Park	🇳🇿 New Zealand	2 of 17	~40%
	Bottlenose Dolphin			~40%
	Hector's Dolphin			~10%
8	Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve	🇲🇽 Mexico	1 of 17	~40%
	Bottlenose Dolphin			~40%
9	Great Bear Rainforest	🇨🇦 Canada	1 of 17	~40%
	Killer Whale			~40%
10	Bastimentos Island National Marine Park	🇵🇦 Panama	1 of 17	~40%
	Bottlenose Dolphin			~40%
11	Galápagos Islands	🇪🇨 Ecuador	4 of 17	~40%
	Bottlenose Dolphin			~20%
	Killer Whale			~10%
	Common Dolphin			~10%
	Short-finned Pilot Whale			~10%
12	Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge	🇺🇸 United States	1 of 17	~30%
	Tamanend's Bottlenose Dolphin			~30%
13	Amacayacu National Natural Park	🇨🇴 Colombia	1 of 17	~30%
	Tucuxi			~30%
14	Raja Ampat	🇮🇩 Indonesia	3 of 17	~30%
	Long-snouted Spinner Dolphin			~10%
	Indo-Pacific Bottlenose Dolphin			~10%
	False Killer Whale			~10%
15	Ningaloo Marine Park	🇦🇺 Australia	2 of 17	~30%
	Indo-Pacific Bottlenose Dolphin			~20%
	Australian Humpback Dolphin			~10%
16	Everglades National Park	🇺🇸 United States	2 of 17	~30%
	Bottlenose Dolphin			~20%
	Tamanend's Bottlenose Dolphin			<5%
17	El Vizcaíno Biosphere Reserve	🇲🇽 Mexico	1 of 17	~30%
	Bottlenose Dolphin			~30%
18	Marino Ballena National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	2 of 17	~30%
	Pantropical Spotted Dolphin			~10%
	Bottlenose Dolphin			~10%
19	Anavilhanas National Park	🇧🇷 Brazil	1 of 17	~20%
	Tucuxi			~20%
20	Noosa National Park	🇦🇺 Australia	1 of 17	~20%
	Indo-Pacific Bottlenose Dolphin			~20%
21	Big Cypress National Preserve	🇺🇸 United States	1 of 17	~20%
	Bottlenose Dolphin			~20%
22	Table Mountain National Park	🇿🇦 South Africa	5 of 17	~20%
	Heaviside's Dolphin			~10%
	Common Dolphin			<5%
	Killer Whale			<5%
	Bottlenose Dolphin			<5%
	Indo-Pacific Bottlenose Dolphin			<5%
23	Corcovado National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	2 of 17	~20%
	Pantropical Spotted Dolphin			~10%
	False Killer Whale			~10%
24	Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve	🇲🇽 Mexico	1 of 17	~20%
	Bottlenose Dolphin			~20%
25	Pacific Rim National Park Reserve	🇨🇦 Canada	1 of 17	~20%
	Killer Whale			~20%
26	Abel Tasman National Park	🇳🇿 New Zealand	1 of 17	~20%
	Bottlenose Dolphin			~20%
27	Garden Route National Park	🇿🇦 South Africa	3 of 17	~10%
	Indo-Pacific Bottlenose Dolphin			~10%
	Bottlenose Dolphin			~10%
	Indian Humpback Dolphin			~10%
28	La Amistad International Park (Panama)	🇵🇦 Panama	1 of 17	~10%
	Bottlenose Dolphin			~10%
29	West Coast National Park	🇿🇦 South Africa	1 of 17	~10%
	Heaviside's Dolphin			~10%
30	Cape Breton Highlands National Park	🇨🇦 Canada	1 of 17	~10%
	Long-finned Pilot Whale			~10%
31	De Hoop Nature Reserve	🇿🇦 South Africa	1 of 17	~10%
	Indian Humpback Dolphin			~10%
32	Rakiura National Park	🇳🇿 New Zealand	1 of 17	~10%
	Long-finned Pilot Whale			~10%
33	Wilsons Promontory National Park	🇦🇺 Australia	1 of 17	~10%
	Common Dolphin			~10%
34	Svalbard	🇳🇴 Norway	1 of 17	~10%
	White-beaked Dolphin			~10%
35	Tortuguero National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	1 of 17	~10%
	Bottlenose Dolphin			~10%
36	iSimangaliso Wetland Park	🇿🇦 South Africa	1 of 17	~10%
	Indo-Pacific Bottlenose Dolphin			~10%
37	Royal National Park	🇦🇺 Australia	1 of 17	~10%
	Indo-Pacific Bottlenose Dolphin			~10%
38	Manuel Antonio National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	1 of 17	~10%
	Pantropical Spotted Dolphin			~10%
39	Olympic National Park	🇺🇸 United States	1 of 17	~10%
	Killer Whale			~10%

Cities Ranked

#	City	Country	Species	Daily sighting probability
1	San Diego	🇺🇸 United States	2 of 17	~10%
	Bottlenose Dolphin			~10%
	Common Dolphin			<5%
2	Auckland	🇳🇿 New Zealand	2 of 17	~10%
	Bottlenose Dolphin			~10%
	Killer Whale			<5%
3	Los Angeles	🇺🇸 United States	2 of 17	~10%
	Bottlenose Dolphin			~10%
	Common Dolphin			<5%
4	Miami	🇺🇸 United States	2 of 17	~10%
	Tamanend's Bottlenose Dolphin			<5%
	Bottlenose Dolphin			<5%
5	Cape Town	🇿🇦 South Africa	1 of 17	~10%
	Heaviside's Dolphin			~10%
6	Vancouver	🇨🇦 Canada	1 of 17	<5%
	Killer Whale			<5%
7	New York City	🇺🇸 United States	2 of 17	<5%
	Tamanend's Bottlenose Dolphin			<5%
	Common Dolphin			<5%
8	Lisbon	🇵🇹 Portugal	1 of 17	<5%
	Common Dolphin			<5%
9	Sydney	🇦🇺 Australia	1 of 17	<5%
	Indo-Pacific Bottlenose Dolphin			<5%
10	San Francisco	🇺🇸 United States	1 of 17	<5%
	Bottlenose Dolphin			<5%

Zoos & Centres Where Found

#	Zoo / Centre	Country
1	Zhuhai Chimelong Ocean Kingdom	🇨🇳 China	In captivity
2	Shanghai Haichang Ocean Park	🇨🇳 China	In captivity
3	SeaWorld Orlando	🇺🇸 United States	In captivity
4	Chimelong Spaceship	🇨🇳 China	In captivity
5	Busch Gardens Tampa	🇺🇸 United States	In captivity
6	SeaWorld San Diego	🇺🇸 United States	In captivity
7	San Diego Zoo	🇺🇸 United States	In captivity
8	Moscow Zoo	🇷🇺 Russia	In captivity
9	SeaWorld Abu Dhabi	🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates	In captivity
10	Aquarium of Genoa	🇮🇹 Italy	In captivity
11	California Academy of Sciences	🇺🇸 United States	In captivity
12	Lisbon Oceanarium	🇵🇹 Portugal	In captivity
13	Kolmården Wildlife Park	🇸🇪 Sweden	In captivity
14	Zoo Miami	🇺🇸 United States	In captivity
15	Minnesota Zoo	🇺🇸 United States	In captivity
16	SeaWorld San Antonio	🇺🇸 United States	In captivity
17	Planète Sauvage	🇫🇷 France	In captivity
18	Brookfield Zoo	🇺🇸 United States	In captivity
19	Zoobic Safari	🇵🇭 Philippines	In captivity
20	WildFlorida Safaris	🇺🇸 United States	In captivity
21	Safari World	🇹🇭 Thailand	In captivity
22	Nuremberg Zoo	🇩🇪 Germany	In captivity
23	Tiergarten Am Tiergarten 28 in Nürnberg	🇩🇪 Germany	In captivity
24	Mundo Marino	🇦🇷 Argentina	In captivity
25	Xcaret	🇲🇽 Mexico	In captivity
26	Friguia Park	🇹🇳 Tunisia	In captivity
27	Six Flags Discovery Kingdom	🇺🇸 United States	In captivity
28	Dierenpark Hoenderdaell	🇳🇱 Netherlands	In captivity
29	San Francisco Zoo	🇺🇸 United States	In captivity
30	Indianapolis Zoo	🇺🇸 United States	In captivity
31	Lisbon Zoo	🇵🇹 Portugal	In captivity
32	Sea World	🇦🇺 Australia	In captivity
33	San Antonio Zoo	🇺🇸 United States	In captivity
34	Loro Parque	🇪🇸 Spain	In captivity
35	Discovery Cove	🇺🇸 United States	In captivity
36	Sea Life Park Hawaii	🇺🇸 United States	In captivity
37	Yokohama Hakkeijima Sea Paradise	🇯🇵 Japan	In captivity
38	L'Oceanogràfic	🇪🇸 Spain	In captivity
39	Marineland (closed)	🇫🇷 France	In captivity
40	Noboribetsu Marine Park Nixe	🇯🇵 Japan	In captivity
41	Kamogawa Sea World	🇯🇵 Japan	In captivity
42	Microrezervație	🇷🇴 Romania	In captivity
43	Delfinario Sonora	🇲🇽 Mexico	In captivity
44	Minami Chita Beach Land	🇯🇵 Japan	In captivity
45	Palmitos Park	🇪🇸 Spain	In captivity
46	Port of Nagoya Public Aquarium	🇯🇵 Japan	In captivity
47	Georgia Aquarium	🇺🇸 United States	In captivity
48	Niigata City Aquarium Marinepia Nihonkai	🇯🇵 Japan	In captivity
49	Aqua World	🇯🇵 Japan	In captivity
50	Gulfarium Marine Adventure Park	🇺🇸 United States	In captivity

Show all 50 Show fewer

Oceanic Dolphins

Species in this group

Killer Whale

Pantropical Spotted Dolphin

Bottlenose Dolphin

Tamanend's Bottlenose Dolphin

Common Dolphin

Tucuxi

Indo-Pacific Bottlenose Dolphin

Risso's Dolphin

Heaviside's Dolphin

Long-finned Pilot Whale

Indian Humpback Dolphin

Long-snouted Spinner Dolphin

Australian Humpback Dolphin

White-beaked Dolphin

False Killer Whale

Hector's Dolphin

Short-finned Pilot Whale

Daily sighting probability by month

When they're spotted

Where to see Oceanic Dolphins

Parks Ranked

Cities Ranked

Zoos & Centres Where Found