The official state butterfly in North Carolina is the eastern tiger swallowtail, with its yellow wings and black stripes. The state mammal of North Carolina is the ubiquitous grey squirrel. The cardinal is the state bird.
In 2005, the North Carolina General Assembly voted to make the venus fly trap the official state carnivorous plant. The state flower is the dogwood, and the Eastern box turtle is the official reptile of North Carolina.
Now, two bills in the North Carolina House aim to add to those ranks, naming the bottlenose dolphin as the official state marine mammal and the loggerhead turtle as the state saltwater reptile.
Proposing to recognize the bottlenose dolphin, the bill reads: “bottlenose dolphins have a short, thick beak and a curved mouth, giving the appearance that they are always smiling.”
The dolphins are common along North Carolina’s coast, swimming down the beach and playing past the breakers. “Whereas, bottlenose dolphins can swim speeds of over 20 miles per hour, dive as deep as 800 feet below the surface, and can launch themselves up to 15 feet out of the water,” the bill states.
As for the loggerhead turtles, the bill notes they are the most common sea turtles in North Carolina, and many nest on the state’s beaches each year.
“Loggerhead sea turtles can live up to 50 years, growing over three feet in length and weighing over 250 pounds,” the bill explains. “Loggerhead sea turtles got their name because their heads resembled logs.”
Both loggerheads and bottlenose dolphins are protected species. North Carolina’s loggerhead sea turtles are a threatened species, part of a distinct population in this part of the Atlantic Ocean. Populations in other parts of the world are considered endangered.
Outer Banks Rep. Bobby Hanig introduced the bottlenose dolphin bill. In an interview Tuesday, he remembered growing up as a surfer: “You’re sitting out there in the water, everything is nice and calm and the dolphins show up, it’s a pretty surreal feeling.”
This is the second time Hanig has proposed naming the bottlenose dolphin the state marine mammal. During the last session, the bill passed unanimously in the House but didn’t make it to the state Senate.
This year, Hanig said, he’s lining up support in the Senate to get the dolphin to the governor’s desk.
“People need something to feel good about,” he said. “Everyone loves dolphins.”
Hanig, a Republican, chairs the House Marine Resources and Aqua Culture Committee, which heard the proposals Tuesday.
Neither proposal has a companion bill in the state Senate yet, so they have a long way to go through the legislative process before North Carolina can declare the loggerhead sea turtle the official state saltwater reptile the the bottlenose dolphin as the state marine mammal.