Pacific white-sided dolphin
Lagenorhynchus obliquidens
A quick, playful dolphin with a pale stripe along its flank, often arriving in a lively group. Dolphins decide when they come, and no sighting is a promise.
Least Concern (IUCN, 2018) means it is not at high risk of extinction at present. There may be up to about a million.
Photos show the species, not always the places on this page.
Length
Adults about 1.7 to 2.4 m (5.5 to 8 ft) per NOAA; males up to about 2.5 m (8.2 ft) and females about 2.3 m (7.5 ft)
Weight
About 136 to 181 kg (300 to 400 lb) per NOAA; the heaviest males up to about 200 kg (440 lb)
Next to a person
About as long as a tall adult, and as heavy as two or three adults
What it eats
Squid and small schooling fish such as capelin, sardines, herring, anchovies and hake. NOAA estimates about 9 kg (20 lb) of food a day. Groups can work together, circling a school of fish to hold it together.
Around people
Playful, give space
How it lives
They live in lively groups, typically 10 to 100 animals but sometimes far larger. They ride bow waves and leap, and they are the only eastern Pacific dolphin known to turn full somersaults in the wild. Females mature at about 7 to 11 years and gestation lasts about one year. Lifespan is about 36 to 40 years.
Where it goes
They roam the temperate North Pacific, and sightings near a given coast can change from year to year. In Kenai Fjords, Alaska, they were rare close to shore, common in summer 2003 and rare again in 2006 and 2007. I did not find a single migration route.
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 across the cool temperate North Pacific, from the Bering Sea and Sea of Okhotsk to Japan and Baja California. There may be up to about 1 million worldwide, but counts are hard because the dolphins come to boats. NOAA recognises three stocks in US waters. A 2008 to 2014 survey off Washington, Oregon and California counted over 21,000 dolphins. The trend for the Alaska stock is unknown. Threats include entanglement in fishing gear and underwater noise, and some are taken in Japanese coastal hunts.
Meet it respectfully
Let the dolphins come to you. Never chase, encircle, touch, feed or swim with them, and do not steer to cut across their path. NOAA guidance for dolphins asks people to stay at least 50 yards (about 46 m) away and to keep watching to 30 minutes or less. Keep engine noise steady and low. Follow local rules and your guide.
Fun fact
Tap the bulb to light it up.
A pale stripe runs from eye to tail, and it looks like a pair of suspenders.
Groups are often 10 to 100, and some gather in the hundreds or even thousands.
They are known to ride bow waves and to somersault out of the water.
Pacific white-sided dolphin in the Ocean Atlas
Places we have researched where this animal is recorded. It is never guaranteed, and some places are for watching from the boat only.
Travel with usComing soonTrusted referralExploringOn pause, story onlyEthics pass
Country colour: pink where we travel, blue where we are exploring or refer, grey for story only.
Canada
Japan
Mexico
United StatesSources for this page
- NOAA Fisheries, Pacific white-sided dolphin, 2026
- US National Park Service, Kenai Fjords, 2026
- Wikipedia, Pacific white-sided dolphin, 2026
- MarineBio, Pacific white-sided dolphins, 2026
- SeaLifeBase, Lagenorhynchus obliquidens, 2026
Facts checked 5 October 2026. Photos: Unsplash licence, or Creative Commons as shown on each photo.
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