Alabama mammals

Common Bottlenose Dolphin in Alabama

Tursiops truncatus

Native to Alabama

Not listed as nonindigenous in Alabama by USGS NAS; treated as native to its mapped Alabama range.

IUCN Red List status

  1. LC
  2. NT
  3. VU
  4. EN
  5. CR
  6. EW
  7. EX

LC – Least Concern

Widespread and abundant; not at risk.

Common Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops truncatus)Delfín mular (Tursiops truncatus), isla de San Cristóbal, islas Galápagos, Ecuador, 2015-07-24, DD 86Common Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops truncatus)Two wild bottlenose dolphins breaching in unison over gray coastal waterWild bottlenose dolphin surfacing head-on, beak and dorsal fin above the water
Photo: NASA · Public domainCommon Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops truncatus)Photo: Diego Delso · CC BY-SA 4.0Delfín mular (Tursiops truncatus), isla de San Cristóbal, islas Galápagos, Ecuador, 2015-07-24, DD 86Photo: Jonathan Eisen · CC BY 4.0Common Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops truncatus)Photo: steve b · CC0Two wild bottlenose dolphins breaching in unison over gray coastal waterPhoto: Rolf Lawrenz · CC BY 4.0Wild bottlenose dolphin surfacing head-on, beak and dorsal fin above the water

Common Bottlenose Dolphin in Alabama, by the numbers

Common in Alabama 15th most recorded of 78 mammals logged in Alabama

632 occurrence records
355 with iNaturalist photos
Jul 8, 2026 Last seen in Alabama

Records from 2000–2026.

632 total records count every Alabama occurrence from GBIF and iNaturalist; the map plots a georeferenced sample of 300; the monthly chart covers the 624 records with a full observation date.

When to look for the Common Bottlenose Dolphin in Alabama

Most sightings fall in March to April.

624 Alabama occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) by month of year, 2000–2026. Shows when the species is recorded, not a guarantee of presence.

Monthly Alabama records (table)
MonthRecords
January46
February45
March89
April69
May32
June52
July42
August54
September64
October47
November47
December37

Monthly common bottlenose dolphin occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) in Alabama, 2000–2026.

Seasonality

Year-round in Alabama, with recorded sightings peaking in March–April, with a smaller rise in August–September.

Occurrence map

Where Common Bottlenose Dolphin has been recorded in Alabama

300 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

173 Alabama records mapped

Notable places to look

Park, forest, or monumentiNaturalist records
Dauphin Island 72

Protected places with the most common bottlenose dolphin sightings, from the USGS Protected Areas Database plus named mountain ranges, good spots to look, not a full breakdown, so they don't sum to the total.

Where it's recorded in Alabama

CountyRecords
Baldwin County 212
Mobile County 51
Tuscaloosa County 1
Washington County 1
Other localities 367

The complete county distribution, spread across 4 Alabama counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

Alabama’s narrow Gulf coast concentrates bottlenose dolphin watching around Dauphin Island, Mobile Bay, and the nearshore water off Gulf State Park and Bon Secour. From shore, search beyond breaking waves and around tidal passes for dorsal fins, coordinated surfacing, or birds feeding over the same school of fish.

Dolphins are reported in every month, with a June high in this record set. Calm seas and low glare matter more than the calendar: morning viewing often makes subtle blows and fin arcs easier to pick out without approaching or disrupting a traveling group.

Occurrence data from iNaturalist and GBIF.

Common Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops truncatus)
Full species profile Common Bottlenose Dolphin Tursiops truncatus Size 2–4 m6.6–13.1 ft Weight 150–650 kg330.7–1433 lb Lifespan 60 yr View the full profile

More mammals in Alabama in the atlas

Data & sources

The data and visualizations on this page draw on these open sources:

  • GBIFCC-BY 4.0occurrence records behind the range map, elevation, and record counts
  • iNaturalistCC0 / CC-BY / CC-BY-SAobservations, photos, and audio recordings
  • IUCN Red Listattributed factthe global conservation status
  • USGS NASpublic domainnative / introduced status
  • Natural Earthpublic domainthe relief basemap
  • USFSpublic domainnational-forest boundaries
  • USGS Protected Areas Databasepublic domainthe named parks, forests, and refuges behind "notable places to look"