The Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops truncatus), specifically the Common Bottlenose Dolphin, is a mid-sized cetacean. It is an adoptable animal in Zoo Tycoon, Zoo Tycoon 2, Zoo Tycoon 2 DS and Zoo Tycoon 2: Marine Mania Mobile.
Description[]
The Bottlenose Dolphin is the most well-known member of the dolphin family. It is grey in color, with a silver or white colored underbelly, and is named after its short, well-defined beak, which is said to resemble a gin bottle. The bottlenose dolphin is found in temperate and tropical marine waters worldwide.
Bottlenose dolphins live in family groups called pods and are highly sociable, using a wide variety of sounds to communicate. They feed on many different types of prey including shrimp, squid, other invertebrates, and fish. Bottlenose dolphins hunt in a variety of ways depending on their location and prey available, one common way is by working together to herd schools of fish into a tight bait ball, taking turns swimming through the school of fish to feed. The bottlenose dolphin is highly intelligent, some populations have been known to work together with fishermen, driving fish towards their nets and eating any fish that manage to escape or evade the nets. Bottlenose dolphins are also one of only a select few non-human animals that give each other names.
Zoo Tycoon[]
The Bottlenose Dolphin is an adoptable animal in Zoo Tycoon and was added as part of the Marine Mania expansion pack. In Freeform mode, it is not available until June 1. It is a show animal and features heavily in several show-themed scenarios.
Like all marine animals, the bottlenose dolphin is an Aquatic species, it is an easy animal to keep and breeds easily. The bottlenose dolphin requires a moderately deep tank at five units, its favorite foliage is Kelp, though it also likes a variety of other foliage such as the Clam Bed, Barnacles, Sea Lettuce, Sea Weed and more to a lesser extent. Its foliage requirement is higher than its rock requirement and requires at least a couple of Small Ocean Floor Rock clusters to maximize its habitat suitability.
When happy, the bottlenose dolphin will do many happy animations, including somersaults, corkscrews, splashing their flipper on the surface, and jumping out of the water.
Tricks[]
| Icon | Trick Name | Trick Object Required | Tank Depth Required | Potential Benefit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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Bubble Jump | Research, Advanced Trick Area | 8 | +3 |
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Hoop Jump | Dolphin Hoop | 4 | +4 |
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Tail Walk | None | 4 | +3 |
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Play with Ball | Dolphin Ball | 4 | +4 |
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Flip | None | 4 | +3 |
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Belly Flop | Research, Advanced Trick Area | 8 | +4 |
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Jump | None | 8 | +3 |
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Spin | Research | 4 | +3 |
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Wave to Crowd | Research | 4 | +4 |
Zoo Tycoon 2[]
The Bottlenose Dolphin is an adoptable animal in Zoo Tycoon 2 and was added as part of the Marine Mania expansion pack. In Campaign and Challenge mode, it is available for adoption once a zoo reaches a rating of 3 and a half stars.
The bottlenose dolphin is a Coastal animal, although it will tolerate Reef and Pelagic to a lesser extent. Bottlenose dolphins may attack smaller animals, such as the Green Sea Turtle and is once again a show animal and has a large variety of tricks it can perform.
The bottlenose dolphin is a piscivore and eats fish, shellfish and squid, it will also hunt Koi, Arctic Cod and Yellowfin Tuna if placed in its exhibit. For enrichment, the bottlenose dolphin can use the Pursuit Ball as well as the Block of Ice with Clams and Clam Bubbler, it can also interact with the Treasure Chest, Pirate Mast and Pirate Ship scenery items if the objects are placed in its exhibit.
 zootycoon.com Description
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| The bottlenose dolphin is found along almost all tropical and temperate coasts, and offshore varieties also exist in deep water. They eat fish, shrimp, squid, and other invertebrates. Dolphins appear to stay mated for life. They communicate using a variety of whistles and rasping sounds and can discriminate even small objects by echolocation—that is, they send out high-frequency clicks that bounce off prey and other objects, and then use the returning echoes to distinguish the objects. Dolphins sometimes stun their prey with high-pitched clicking sounds. Is it any surprise their brains are larger than those of humans? |
Tricks[]
| Icon | Trick Name | Trick Level | Trick Popularity |
|---|---|---|---|
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Hoop Jump | 1 | 3 1/2 Stars |
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Twist in Trick Area | 2 | 4 Stars |
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Fall Sideways in Trick Area | 3 | 4 Stars |
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Bar Jump | 1 | 3 Stars |
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Front Flip in Trick Area | 2 | 4 Stars |
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Backflip in Trick Area | 3 | 4 1/2 Stars |
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Jump in Trick Area | 1 | 2 1/2 Stars |
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Vertical Jump in Trick Area | 2 | 3 stars |
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Dive Jump in Trick Area | 3 | 4 Stars |
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Slide on Beaching Platform | 1 | 2 Stars |
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Flipper Splash in Trick Area | 2 | 3 Stars |
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Tail Splash in Trick Area | 3 | 4 Stars |
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Swipe Ball | 1 | 3 1/2 Stars |
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Ram Ball | 2 | 4 Stars |
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Swipe Tether Ball | 1 | 3 1/2 Stars |
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Ram Tether Ball | 2 | 4 1/2 Stars |
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Water Walk in Trick Area | 1 | 3 Stars |
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Spyhop in Trick Area | 2 | 4 Stars |
Other Games[]
Zoo Tycoon 2 DS[]
The bottlenose dolphin, simply called the Dolphin in-game, is an adoptable animal in Zoo Tycoon 2 DS and is the only fully aquatic animal available in the game.
Zoo Tycoon 2: Marine Mania Mobile[]
The bottlenose dolphin is an adoptable animal in Zoo Tycoon 2: Marine Mania Mobile and is one of only two show animals available, the other being the Orca.
Gallery[]
Zoo Tycoon[]
Zoo Tycoon 2[]
Trivia[]
- Bottlenose dolphins can perform the most number of tricks in Zoo Tycoon, with 9 tricks they can perform in total.
- This also holds true in Zoo Tycoon 2, where they can perform 18 different tricks.
- In some versions of Zoo Tycoon 2: Marine Mania Mobile, the bottlenose dolphin is the only adoptable animal.
- If a bottlenose dolphin hunts a smaller animal, it may eat chum from the carcass the animal left behind, despite chum not being listed as a food that dolphins prefer. In real life, the diet of bottlenose dolphins is limited to fish and squid, just like what is recommended in the game.
| Zoo Tycoon 2 DS animals | |
|---|---|
| Standard Animals | African Elephant • Black Panther • Black Rhinoceros • California Sea Lion • Cheetah • Chimpanzee • Dolphin • Dromedary Camel • Galapagos Giant Tortoise • Giant Sable Antelope • Gray Wolf • Greater Flamingo • Grizzly Bear • Komodo Dragon • Lion • Masai Giraffe • Moose • Nile Crocodile • Ostrich • Orangutan • Polar Bear • Pygmy Hippopotamus • Red Kangaroo • Spanish Lynx • Wolverine • Zebra |
| Star Animals | American Beaver • Emperor Penguin • Giant Panda • Koala • Mountain Gorilla • Sea Otter |
| Amazing Animals | Saber-toothed Tiger • Triceratops • Unicorn • Yeti |
| Zoo Tycoon 2: Mobile animals | |
|---|---|
| Zoo Tycoon 2: Mobile | African Elephant • Bengal Tiger • Black Rhinoceros • Cheetah • Chimpanzee • Giant Panda • Giraffe • Lion • Lowland Gorilla |
| Marine Mania Mobile | Bottlenose Dolphin • Giant Pacific Octopus • Great White Shark • Green Sea Turtle • Manta Ray • Orca • Rockhopper Penguin |