Monday I was able to join Sea Crest’s visiting researcher and her class in search of dolphins. The seas were not as calm as forecasted, but we did see dolphins fairly early in the day and for quite awhile. We knew right away that we were observing bottlenose dolphins, but I found their bowriding and spyhopping behavior strange… I then noticed the very white patch on one individual’s peduncle, a characteristic common among offshore (aka oceanic) bottlenose dolphins. Sure enough, as we got a closer look, we all agreed that we were in the midst of five offshore bottlenose dolphins! A few spotteds were suddenly in the mix and before we knew it, there were at least eight Atlantic spotted dolphins, including Swoosh (#36). The spotteds seemed a bit agitated, fast swimming towards and around the bottlenose before keeping their distance. We were able to see two young bottlenose as well as un-named #89 and a spotted calf. A busy, intriguing day all around!
Until next time,
Kel