Common Name: Indo-Pacific Hump-Backed Dolphin
Species: Sousa chinensis
Adult Weight: 150-200kg (330-440lbs)
Birth Weight: 25kg (55lb)
Adult Length: 2-2.8m (6 1/2-9 1/4ft)
Birth Length: 1m (39in)
Habitat: Inshore
Status: Locally Common
Diet: Fish
Description: Classification of the hump-backed dolphin is still in dispute. There could be as many as 5 species, although most authorities only accept 2: the IndoPacific and the Atlantic. However, there certainly appears to be 2 distinct populations of the Indo-Pacific Humpbacked Dolphin: one type is found West of Sumatra, Indonesia; the other to the east and south of the island. Animals in the west have a characteristic fatty hump, while those in the east have a more prominent dorsal fin but no hump.
Behaviour: Usually quite difficult to approach and tends to avoid boats by diving and reappering at some distance away in a different direction. Normally a slow swimmer, but courtship may involve chasing one another around in circles at high speed. May turn on one side and wave a flipper in the air. Sometimes spy-hops. Often breaches, especially when young, and may do complete somersults. May lobtail when feeding. Associates with Bottlenose Dolphins, and to a lesser extent, with Finless Porpoises and Long-Snouted Spinner Dolphins.
Distribution: Distribution is poorly known and whether it is continous from Southern Africa all the way to Australia. Not yet recorded in the Philippines, though seems likely to occur there. Lives mainly in tropical and subtropical waters. Rarely found more than a few kilometres from the shore, preferring coasts with mangrove swamps, lagoons, and esturies as well as areas with reefs, sandbanks and mudbanks. Sometimes enters rivers through rarely more than a few kilometres upstream and usually within tidal range. Prefers water less than 20m (65ft) deep and, on more open coasts, is typically found in the surf zone.
