Picture above taken by myself.
Ulysses is the largest orca at Sea World in San Diego California. Male orcas are identified by the tall dorsal fin. The dorsal fin of a male orca can grow as high as 7 feet. In captivity the dorsal fin flops over from swimming in circles all day and also because gravity pulls in down unlike in the ocean where there is no gravity. Most orcas dorsal fins bend to their left, Ulysses bends to his right.
In 1979 Sea World in Florida captured 5 Atlantic Bottlenosed Dolphins and branded numbers on there dorsal fins and let them loose to track there movements for a dolphin project. After the branding Dolphin 56 was sited many times all over. Because of the branded 56 on his dorsal boaters where able to indentify him. Dolphin 56 has been sighted in the Virgina, Delaware, North Carolina, South Carolina, New Jersey and New York area over the years. Dolphin 56 is about 30 years old and still makes trips up and down the east coast on his own. Next time you go out on a boat and you see some dolphins keep a look out of Dolphin 56!!!
The worlds most famous orca is learning how to be wild again. Keiko starred in the movie "Free Willy". He has lived in captivity most of his life in poor conditions at a Mexico City amusement park called Reino Adventura. He was underweight, his teeth were worn down, his gums would bleed from gnawing at the side of his tank, his dorsal fin drooped and he had a skin virus. The Free Willy Foundation was formed and Keiko was moved to the US to be rehabilitated at the Oregon Coast Aquarium. He lived there for 2 years and was brought back to health then he was moved to a bay pen in Iceland. Now Keiko is learning to catch live fish and is swimming in the open ocean again and Ocean Futures hopes to release Keiko by the spring. Keiko is identified by his bent dorsal fin a 3 black spots under his chin.
Dorsal fins come in many shapes, sizes and colors. We are able to tell dolphins apart by the shape, size, scars and colors of the dolphin dorsal fin. No two dorsal fins are the same just like no two finger prints are the same. The dolphins use there dorsal fin for balance to swim through the ocean. Theres no bone in the dorsal. When a baby dolphin is born the dorsal fin is nice and clean but through out the dolphins life it can get scars from fights with sharks or other dolphins and even cut from fishing line left in the ocean. Some or even tagged with a branded number showing they were released from captivity. Life in captivity also changed the dorsals of dolphins. They become permanently bent over because dolphins in captivity swim in circles all day and gravity pulls the dorsal down. On this page your going to meet some famous and not so famous dolphins by there dorsal fin. You will have a look at who is who. :)
Ulysses
Picture taken by Brian Scott
Dolphin 56
Keiko "Free Willy"
Pictures
Atlantic Bottlenose dolphin with a hook like dorsal.
The tall dorsal of an orca.
A pod of orcas swimming together. The females have short fins that can grow as high as 4 feet and the males 6 feet.
Dorsals of 3 bottlenose dolphins diving together.
1. Pod of dolphins resting. 2. Mother and baby dolphin.
