Another really good morning of visibility and socializing dolphins! The three one-year-old calves were quite rambunctious today. During the early morning session, Stan was zipping around sometimes with Shawn and others with his older sister, Elli. Calli and Elli were also quite enamored of my fins and crowded me often while I watched the others in the group. Maury was in infant position first with Gracie and then with Mrs. B. Shawn was non-phased by Maury usurping his spot with Gracie and just pushed her away a bit to nurse. Alita played a bit with her calf, Dory – with a leaf and then a stick! You can see them in this image here.
After our morning data collection session, we reviewed the video and chatted about our planned innovative research study. We were able to film a brief regular training session with Alita and Gracie to confirm camera angles from the water and on-dock perspectives. I was also able to get another 15 minutes of video in the afternoon. Hard to believe but the underwater visibility was still quite good, even in the afternoon! And, there was lots of whistling from Alita, Gracie and Carmella in the afternoon.
We’ve been using the AX100 in the MVA2 and a GoPro on top. So, we’ve obtained some really neat wide angle images of the dolphins. And been able to document the social interactions between the moms and calves, as well as the older individuals. We wrapped up the day with a talk I gave to our group and a few other guests of the resort. It is always fun to chat about dolphins and our research results!
Tomorrow will bring us over the Bailey’s at 6:00 AM to take advantage of the morning high tide and make it easier for the divers in our group to access the early morning boat dive. Sleep well!
Until tomorrow,
Kathleen