Tuesday morning began with research for an upcoming DolphinPod episode. Unfortunately, I continually request to reschedule the taping because we’ve had so many dolphin trips! I’ve never been more pleased with an excuse…But, hopefully we’ll have the new episode for you all very soon.
Next, it was time to have a dolphin chat with a group of dolphin boat passengers. Since I am not joining their daily dolphin trips, it was great to share some of DCP’s work with them – and hear all about their experiences, concerns and appreciation for dolphins and their ocean home. Thank you!
By mid-afternoon it was time to head to the dock and out in search of dolphins. It had been two days since we had seen Bimini’s Atlantic spotteds, so we were all definitely ready for a sighting…We did not have to wait long until we saw a scattered group of bottlenose dolphins. Because of how scattered they were, we observed them from the surface for a bit and then continued in search of others. Soon, there was the tell-tale splash. We headed over and found four spotted dolphins including Tilly (#87) and un-named #91. They were very interested in riding the bow and all of the passengers got a good look. Next, we saw some big splashing in the deep water and wondering if it could be dolphins feeding. We headed that way and realized there were dolphins as far as the eye could see! A conservative estimate is that there were at least 40 dolphins scattered throughout the general area. We had some underwater observations, including one over the wall (aka in very deep water), but then we chose to observe from the boat to be sure that we were not interrupting their feeding. Once the dolphins were done feeding, they ventured into shallower water and we were able to again see them under water! Over the course of the day, we saw Buster (#04), Romeo (#10), Lumpy (#14), Split Jaw (#22, pictured here), White Blotch (#29), Lil’ Jess (#35), Swoosh (#36 – and calf?), Billy (#64), Tim (#69), un-named #24 and 75 and possibly Freckles (#15), un-named #85 and White Blotch’s 2004 calf, #94. I’ll need to review photos to be sure. As you can see, it was a busy day!
Another dolphin trip tomorrow!
Kel