Hector's Dolphins: Babies
Females usually have one calf every two to three years. Hector’s dolphins mate in late spring and calves are born about a year later.
The calves are 50-60cm long at birth. They stay close to their mothers who provide them with milk and protection for about a year until they are old enough to fend for themselves.
Like us, Hector’s dolphins love to chatter and play. They like company, and they usually swim in groups of between 2 and 12 dolphins.
Hector’s dolphins tend to hang-out in the same area for many years and sometimes for life. They spend their days swimming along the coastline, surfacing to breathe, diving to find food and playing.
Dolphins love to play games. They spend a lot of time playing. They play in the surf and use leaves and seaweed as toys. They are also interested in human activity. Dolphins will swim over to investigate people swimming, in kayaks and boats.
They like to swim beside kayaks and in the wake of boats. Hector’s dolphins seldom jump clear out of the water but when they do their jumps are very high compared to the long horizontal jumps of many other dolphin species.
Hector’s dolphins mature at about 8 years old and they live to around 15 to 18 years old.
