As the weather cleared this afternoon and the sun began to shine, the interns headed out on their second boat trip with high hopes of getting their first swim with dolphins! Luckily, we spotted a group of about 13 dolphins early on in the trip, including at least two calves! They were moving quite fast and didn’t seem too interested in us, but we eagerly followed them and were able to spot Lumpy (#17), Swoosh (#36), and un-named #75! We observed some cool tail slapping behaviors and leaping from the calves, as well as mating behavior, and possibly even some feeding! At one point we even encountered a bottlenose from afar, but were unable to ID it. Eventually the group scattered and as we drove around we lost hope of finding them again. Right as we sped up to head back to the dock though, we met another group of dolphins! This time we were able to jump in the water and Brittany got to experience them under water for the first time; it was amazing to say the least! During the swim we saw Speedy (#78), Billy (#64), and possibly Niecey (#48), as well as at least 7 others! They were quite interactive and we were even able to get up close with a couple calves too. Eventually they lost interest and headed off, but this swim was a great end to a dolphin filled day. We are eagerly awaiting our next trip out! Thanks Bimini Undersea!
Until tomorrow,
Brittany, Alexis, and Kel