Fraser’s Dolphin
Scientific Name : Lagenodelphis Hosei
- IUCN: Not Endangered/ Least Concern
- Other names: None
- Swahili name: Pomboo ndomo Fraser
- Length: 2-2.7m
- Weight: 125-150kg
- Life expectancy: Not fully known
- Abundance: Offshore tropical and subtropical waters around the world
- Occurance: Year round; in Kenya occasional sightings only
- Primary prey: Varopis fosj amd squid
- Conservation status: Unknown, though there are concerns with fishery bycatch in many areas
- Quick key identification: Stocky body with short beak with black on top and white on bottom, distinctly small flippers and upright triangular dorsal fin, dark band starting from top of beak down to underneath the tail. Teeth are 38-44 on each of the upper and lower jaws.
Can usually spot them with active splashing when surfacing waters. It is a marine mammal that shows high sociability. The pods of this dolphin are made of 10 to 100 individuals, and sometimes they create larger groups up to 1,000 dolphins. They have no problem in associating with other species of dolphins or cetaceans. The pods move fast, and a single Fraser’s dolphin swims in a manner described as “ostentatious” and “aggressive,” leaving a trail of foam in its wake.
