What do bottle nose dolphins eat?

Coastal bottlenose dolphins prefer bottom-dwelling fish and invertebrates, while offshore dolphins eat a variety of fish and squid. More ingenious feeders have been known to trail fishing boats, in the hopes of snagging some leftovers.

Adult bottlenose dolphins eat from 4 to 6 percent of their body weight each day, with nursing females taking in as much as 8 percent. Dolphins often hunt together in groups, encircling large schools of fish, or herding them into shallow waters, before taking turns to feed. The fastest swimmers can reach speeds of up to 18 miles per hour and often pursue an individual fish.