Dolphins

The Maldives is a fantastic destination for spotting dolphins, with most islands offering excursions to go on a search for these incredible animals.

Spinner Dolphin

The most common species is the Spinner Dolphin, which can gather in large pods of dozens of individuals, and on occasion can be seen in mega-pods of hundreds. These relatively small dolphins are easy to identify with their tricolor pattern of dark grey, light grey and almost white stripes, as well as their habit of acrobatically breaching and rotating. They spend their days within the atolls, going out to the deeper ocean to feed at night, and it is in the atoll rim channels that they can be usually seen around sunrise or sunset. They seem to throughly enjoy riding the bow wave of boats and so it's possible to get eye to eye for a truly unforgettable experience.

Indo-Pacific Bottlenose Dolphin

Less abundant are the Indo-Pacific Bottlenose dolphins, which have a larger, slender body and long narrow beaks. They have dark grey backs with a lighter belly, which can be spotted in adulthood. They tend to live in much smaller pods numbering around a dozen, although sometimes congregate in larger groups.

Other Species

Keen observers might spot other species, such as Risso's dolphin, Rough-toothed dolphin, Fraser's dolphin and the Pantropical spotted dolphin.