Monday’s dolphin trip departed Sea Crest Hotel & Marina early, giving guests the opportunity to have an extended snorkel stop at “The Bimini Road” (aka
“Atlantis”) and enjoy lunch on the boat. Soon, we were headed in search of dolphins and we quickly came upon several bottlenose dolphins. They were scattered and on the move so we continued on our way in search of others. Luckily we were not disappointed…
First we came upon seven Atlantic spotted dolphins: four adults, including un-named #40 and 43, and 3 calves. The seas were so calm that we had incredible views of this group and we were able to swim with them too! Soon after we lost sight of them, we came upon a group of eight bottlenose dolphins. It looked like at least one of the individuals was also in yesterday’s group, but I won’t know for sure until the photos are processed for IDs. They were again quite active at the surface although today some of that activity may have been related to the agitation caused by the two remoras on the belly of the dolphin in this picture. Imagine the drag those creatures are causing – ouch!
We ended the day with an observation of and short swim with Niecey (#48) and Lone Star (#56) each with her own calf. At one point, Lone Star was simply hanging at the surface, vertical, with her calf. We all got a good look!
Until next time,
Kel