Flipper is an American television program first broadcast on NBC from September 19, 1964, until April 15, 1967. Flipper, a bottlenose dolphin, is the pet of Porter Ricks, Chief Warden at Coral Key Park and Marine Preserve and his two young sons, Sandy and Bud. The show has been dubbed an "aquatic Lassie".


The common bottlenose dolphin has a bigger brain than humans. Numerous investigations of bottlenose dolphin intelligence include tests of mimicry, use of artificial language, object categorization and self-recognition. This intelligence has driven considerable interaction with humans.