White beaked dolphins are very large and have a short, rounded beak. The dorsal fin, which is in the middle of the back, is tall and has a broad base. The pectoral fins are large and also have a broad base. The tail stock is very thick and they have 22 to 28 pairs of sharp teeth in every jaw. All of this helps the dolphin to be a very, very fast swimmer, just like the Dall's porpoise.

White beaked dolphins are astonishing creatures because they do lots of amazing things. They can swim as fast as a speedboat, jump tall buildings in a … well, not really, but they can jump a long way out of the water, even though they do not do it very often. They can track down tiny creatures with their incredible echolocation and they can, on occasion, gather in immense herds of up to 1,500 animals! They really are sensational creatures.

The white beaked dolphin has lots of different colours. The dorsal fin is very dark or black while the belly is totally white up to the tail stock. The back is dark grey to black with a lighter patch behind the dorsal fin. The dolphin's rostrum - the rounded part of the head - is white to light grey. There are quite a number of grey and white markings on the sides and flanks. The dorsal fin and the flanks have a blaze of white that starts from just above the flanks. The lip of the dolphin and the beak is usually white, at least this is usually the case in the Western Atlantic. The blowhole is surrounded by a small, dark-grey patch which is almost circular. An adult white beaked dolphin is about 2.5 metres to 2.7 metres long and the maximum it grows to is 3 metres. It weighs approximately 180kg and the maximum weight is 275 kg. The maximum length for a male white beaked dolphin is 3.5 metres. No-one knows the lifespan of the white beaked dolphin. However, when they are born they are about 115cm long and weigh 40kg. (The calves are born between June and September.) When they are older, and are ready to have babies, they should be about 1.95m long. The predators of the species are also unknown. However killer whales have been chasing them for years and it is likely that the false killer whale may also be one of the creatures involved. Sharks, as you might expect, are likely to represent a significant danger although the exact species is probably subject to considerable debate. White beaked dolphins are usually found in the cool, Arctic waters of the North Atlantic Ocean and are more often present in the coastal areas than out at sea. In the North Sea there are, approximately, between 4 and 13 000 white beaked dolphins. In the Northwestern Atlantic, there are about 5 500 white beaked dolphins. Just off the coast of Canada there are said to be approximately 3 486 more. People have seen white beaked dolphins swimming around in huge herds up to 1,500 strong. This is particularly the case in the Eastern Atlantic but not in the Western Atlantic, where the herds are much smaller. In the UK, usually, the groups contain less than 10 animals.