Behaviour
Southern right whale dolphins are very graceful and often move by leaping out of the water continuously. When they swim slowly, they expose only a small area of the head and back when they surface to breathe. Breaching, belly-flopping, side-slapping and lob-tailing (slapping the flukes on the water surface) have been witnessed. They typically live in groups of between 2 and 100. Some groups are more nervous than others and will swim away from boats, whereas others will approach and possibly bow-ride. This tendency to bow-ride worked against them in the 19th century, as it allowed whalers to harpoon them from the bow and use them as food. Southern right whale dolphins are often seen in the company of hourglass dolphins.
Read more about this topic: Southern Right Whale Dolphin
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—Donald Davidson (b. 1917)