BOTTLENOSE DOLPHINS
An in-water encounter with a pod of dolphins is breathtaking!
SPECIES DETAILS
COMMON BOTTLENOSE DOLPHIN
Scientific name:
Tursiops truncatus
Habitat:
Coastal waters, bays, estuaries, and nearshore waters
Population:
600,000 worldwide
Conservation status:
No advice (Protected in Australia)
Australian distribution:
All states & Northern Territory
INDO-PACIFIC BOTTLENOSE DOLPHIN
Scientific name:
Tursiops aduncus
Habitat:
Coastal waters, bays, estuaries, and nearshore waters
Population:
Unknown but abundant
Conservation status:
No advice (Protected in Australia)
Australian distribution:
All states & Northern Territory
BURRUNAN DOLPHIN
Scientific name:
Tursiops australis
Habitat:
Port Phillip Bay & Gippsland Lakes (VIC)
Population:
Approximately 120
Conservation status:
Critically Endangered (Protected in Australia)
Australian distribution:
Victoria
INFORMATION
Dolphins are air-breathing marine mammals belonging to same animal order as whales, collectively known as Cetaceans.
There are two broad categories of whales, toothed-whales (Odontocetes) such as dolphins, and baleen whales (Mysticeti) which include humpback whales.
Toothed-whales include over 70 species such as porpoises, killer whales (0rca), sperm whales and dolphins.
Around 14 species of dolphin can be found in Australian waters including three of the four recognised species of bottlenose dolphin.
The three species found in Australian waters are the common bottlenose, Indo-Pacific bottlenose and Burrunan dolphin.
The Burrunan dolphin, only found in Victoria, was identified as a separate species in 2011. There are only about 120 individuals located in Port Phillip Bay and around 60 in the Gippsland lakes.
Dolphins are very social animals and live in groups called pods, which can vary from a small number of individuals up to thousands in offshore pods.
They communicate and hunt using clicking sounds and echo-location, and can swim at speeds up to 35 km per hour, (20 mph).
After mating, females give birth to their calves a year later and suckle their young for around 18 months. Calves stay with their mothers for about four years and can live for over 40 years.
Whilst a scuba encounter is rare, a dolphin interaction with a licensed dolphin swim tour operator is all but guaranteed.
Burrunan Dolphins is one of Australia’s 50 Great Dives! READ MORE
Copyright © 2025 Steve Sinclair
DIVE DETAILS
Check with local dive services provider
2026 GREAT AUSTRALIAN DIVE CHALLENGE
Dive Registration
To register this dive for validation, go to: www.50greatdives.com.
NOTE: Entrants should do this dive with one of the following preferred dive services.
DIVE SERVICES
NEW SOUTH WALES
Forster-Tuncurry
DIVE FORSTER +61 (0) 409 466 958
VICTORIA
Port Phillip Heads
SEA ALL DOLPHIN SWIMS +61 (3) 5258 3889
WESTERN AUSTRALIA
Bunbury
BUNBURY DIVE +61 (0) 468 445 522
Exmouth
MONTEBELLO ISLAND SARFARIS +61 (0) 419 091 670
DIVE TRAVEL SERVICES
