California mammals

Common Bottlenose Dolphin in California

Tursiops truncatus

Native to California

Not listed as nonindigenous in California by USGS NAS; treated as native to its mapped California 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 California, by the numbers

Common in California 31st most recorded of 233 mammals logged in California

3,657 occurrence records
3,578 with iNaturalist photos

Records from 2000–2026.

3,657 total records count every California occurrence from GBIF and iNaturalist; the map plots a georeferenced sample of 300; the monthly chart covers the 3,522 records with a full observation date.

When to look for the Common Bottlenose Dolphin in California

Recorded year-round, with no strong seasonal peak.

3,522 California occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) by month of year, 2000–2026. Shows when the species is recorded, not a guarantee of presence.

Monthly California records (table)
MonthRecords
January346
February230
March279
April293
May271
June246
July323
August345
September270
October272
November257
December390

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

Seasonality

Year-round in California, with no strong seasonal peak in observations.

Occurrence map

Where Common Bottlenose Dolphin has been recorded in California

300 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

300 California records mapped

Notable places to look

Park, forest, or monumentiNaturalist records
Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area 73
Golden Gate National Recreation Area 68
Torrey Pines State Reserve 39
Channel Islands National Park 25
Crystal Cove State Park 18
Half Moon Bay State Beach 13
Fort Ord Dunes State Park 11
Seacliff State Beach 10

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 California

CountyRecords
Los Angeles County 260
San Diego County 249
Santa Cruz County 110
Orange County 92
Monterey County 83
Santa Barbara County 57
San Mateo County 53
San Luis Obispo County 34
Ventura County 27
San Francisco County 19
Marin County 16
Sonoma County 4
2 other counties 2,653

The complete county distribution, spread across 14 California counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

Common bottlenose dolphin reports line California’s coast rather than its open interior. Monterey Bay, the Channel Islands, and the Southern California Bight stand out because nearshore waters and regular boat routes make dolphins easier to observe.

Records are spread across the year, with December only modestly higher than most months. That broad pattern suits dolphins using California waters in every season, but port access, sea conditions, and whale-watching schedules strongly affect what gets reported. The totals don’t measure pod size or offshore numbers.

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 California 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"