Common bottlenose dolphin

Photo: Lorenzo Ena · CC BY-NC

A resident pod of common bottlenose dolphins has used Brijuni's sheltered channels for decades and individuals have been photo-identified across multiple years. They are highly social, echolocating hunters that cooperate to herd fish against the reef face. Underwater encounters are unscripted — the dolphins approach divers on their own terms and occasionally remain for extended curiosity-driven interactions.