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Where Dolphins Live: The World Map

From Norwegian fjords to the Amazon, dolphins occupy nearly every sea and a few great rivers. This map places the areas where they can be watched.

82 spots
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Unlike the great whales, most dolphins do not migrate: they hold a territory and stay in it, sometimes across generations. That is why a population such as the one at Lošinj, in the Adriatic, has been tracked individual by individual since 1987. This site fidelity is also why some coasts offer near-certain sightings all year, where whale watching depends on a window of a few months. A word on naming: the pilot whale belongs on this map because it genuinely is a delphinid despite its name, while the harbour porpoise is absent, belonging to a separate family, the phocoenids.

The spots on this map

Every point below is a listed destination. Those with a published guide are clickable.

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