Happy World Whale and Dolphin Day! 🐋 🐬 Did you know that all dolphins are actually whales? They are all part of the scientific order Cetacea, which includes whales, porpoises and dolphins! Dolphin species are grouped together with toothed whales (suborder Odontoceti), whereas right whales, humpback whales, blue whales, and many other larger whales you may commonly think of are known as baleen whales (suborder Mysticeti), which have a long fringed plate made of keratin to filter food instead of individual teeth. In this photo you can see a pair of juvenile North Atlantic right whales swimming near a group of bottlenose dolphins. This photo was taken earlier this year by the CMA Research Institute aerial survey team, which was coordinating closely with NOAA and other partners on the water to monitor these critically endangered whales and alert marine vessels to stay clear of the whales path as they crossed near a busy inlet off the coast of North Carolina. Vessel strikes are one of t...