Chilean dolphin

How it lives

Chilean dolphins usually travel in small groups of about 2 to 10, and sometimes up to 50. They are described as shy and hard to approach. They mate in early winter, and calves are born in spring. A female has one calf every 2 to 3 years. Young reach maturity at about 5 to 9 years. How long they live in the wild is not known.

Where it goes

Mostly non-migratory, and each local group stays in its own area. In the inner seas of Chiloé there is clear site fidelity, and no individual has been confirmed moving even between neighbouring study areas. Two separate genetic lineages are known along the coast.

We only draw a journey on the map when scientists have tracked it or clearly documented it. For this animal we have not found one yet.

Populations

Found only in Chile, from near Valparaiso (about 33 degrees south) to south of Navarino Island (about 55 degrees south). The total number is not known. It is thought to be in the low thousands, and some sources say fewer than 5,000. About 300 live in the inner seas of Chiloé, and about 134 individuals were identified in Bahia Llico in the Gulf of Arauco. Numbers are considered to be declining. IUCN: Near Threatened (2017). It has been listed under CMS Appendix II since 1979.