Groups of a dozen or so Bottlenose have been known to join together to form an even larger herd and swim alongside of the Atlantic Pilot Whale in the Atlantic. Off the Florida coast, herds often associate with Right or Humpback whales, while inshore smaller groups are more common. In the Pacific, the large offshore herds also swim with Pilot whales while others swim along with Gray Whales. During the winter off the coast of Hawaii, they are known to interact with Humpback Whales as well. These dolphins are extremely acrobatic, oftentimes riding waves, leap-frogging, leaping, and surf riding. They may also be seen playing in waves of a boat, weaving back and forth, playing in the spray or creating intricate patterns. These playful characteristics and so called tricks make dolphins the favorite animal of many people.

Dolphins form family like structures known as pods. They are family like in the sense that they travel and spend their time together but do not usually consist of a mother, father, and children. Pods are often separated by age and sex. Once a group of juvenile dolphins are old enough to live on their own, they may branch off into their own pod. There seems to be a hierarchy present within the communities because elder males will not be seen associating with juveniles or mothers with calves and also within pods because a certain dolphin may be dominant over the others in his respective pod.. A pod may on average is between 2 and 25 dolphins with the average coastal pod consisting of about 10. Pods can grow up to herds of 1000 but only in open water. Dolphins may stay with a pod very briefly or for many years. Calves tend to stay with their mothers for a few years before branching off with their companions or mates. Dolphins show affection through their play behavior and may also use these techniques to communicate, find food, or for defense. They are known to play; swimming belly to belly, touching flippers, gently raking or biting, and chasing each other to show signs of affection to both members of their own sex and the opposite sex.

There are coastal and oceanic patterns in both the Pacific and the Atlantic. In the Atlantic, they may be found offshore from Nova Scotia to North Carolina, and both offshore and inshore off Florida, the gulf of Mexico, and the Caribbean sea. In the pacific the may be located off the shores of southern Los Angeles county south to Baja California and the to the Sea of Cortez. Bottlenose herds are also found in abundance in the Indian Ocean from the coast of India and Sri Lanka to the tips of South Africa and New Zealand. They can also be found both in deep water and inshore in the Mediterranean Sea, Black Sea, Red Sea, and the Persian Gulf. The Bottlenose is one of the most prevalent species off the Israeli and Egyptian coasts as well.

Scientists believe that most Bottlenose herds establish a sort of "home base" usually in a bay or lagoon. From there they will move accordingly about a larger range in search of food, mates, or to escape predators. The range in which each subgroup of dolphins will travel from home has been studied by scientists and tentatively proven that the range size depends upon the variables of age and sex.

The feeding patterns of Bottlenose dolphins vary according to where they live. Those found in Atlantic coastal waters tend to feed on fish such as herring, mullet, capelin, smelt, and catfish in addition to eel, shrimp, and other crustaceans. Dolphins residing in open water often eat blue whiting, squid, and codfish. The Bottlenose pods found in the Indian Ocean seem to prefer mullet, dwelling fish, and coral reef. Other favorites of many groups around the world include anchovies, haddock, and mackerel.

Dolphins search for food in large, cooperative groups as a means to pool resources and experience in hunting. They will travel in herds that are much broader than they are long in order to ensure they have covered as much ocean as possible with their use of echolocation. Since they primarily feed on fish that often travel in schools, the herds will visit different feeding spots so not to drain all of the food resources in one area. The herds work cooperatively and have been known to employ feeding tactics such as sending a few dolphins to dive down below a school of fish and then send them scurrying upward to the rest of the dolphin pod waiting to feed. They also employ other tactics such as cornering fish against a sloped reef or shoreline, essentially trapping the helpless fish against a wall to become prey for the dolphins.