Category: Bimini 2008

And spotteds we found!  First, we were joined by an older calf and the well-known adult female, White Blotch (#29).  The little one spent a lot of time riding the bow of the boat while White Blotch occasionally joined and then seemed to pull the young one away…After a few cycles of this, they were gone.  About 20 minutes later we came upon a group of 10 spotteds who were then joined by 2 bottlenose – and close by, a sea turtle and trailing remora!  It was a quad-species event! 

We got a VERY quick glimpse of two Atlantic spotted dolphins – a sub-adult and an adult.  Neither stayed long enough for me ID them from the boat, or for us to swim with them. 

It was only when we neared home, with the setting sun, that we saw them.  A group of at least 11 coastal bottlenose dolphins were cruising north.  We were able to observe them from the boat for about 15 minutes before they went to the bottom and were on their way.  Bottlenose ID#s 01, 17, 20 and possibly 14 were there.  The most interesting note though, is that I saw a dorsal fin that looked an awful lot like Bottlenose ID#14 not from Bimini, but from Orange Cay, 60 miles south of here. 

 OFFSHORE BOTTLENOSE!  It turns out the “scratchy white” pigmentation on the dorsal side of these animals is fairly typical and has been seen on offshore (aka oceanic) bottlenose before.  Thanks to a generous donation to DCP, in the coming weeks we’ll be able to purchase a digital still camera that will allow us to better photograph bottlenose dolphins for photo-ID purposes.  This will allow us to continue to collaborate with researchers in other parts of the Bahamas to look for matches –

I went for the suspenseful dot, dot, dot back there.  Glad you were intrigued! Anyway, once we arrived at the spot, we saw bottlenose dolphins.  And I thought to myself, "Huh, I don't see anything weird.  A bit unusual for them to be right here, but other than that…"  And then there they were.  Darker.  Longer.  Bigger.  Could these be "offshore" bottlenose?  In many areas of the world there are two "ecotypes" of common bottlenose dolphins – inshore (or coastal) and offshore (or oceanic or pelagic). 

Yesterday (21 March) I got sidelined from MVA2 preparations with a phone call about a dog named Peanut.  It seems that Peanut, one of the many strays on Bimini, has taken a liking to a friend.  So, when Peanut's recent ear injury (thanks to a fight with another dog) began to look infected, we knew we had to help.  There is no vet on Bimini, but Nowdla Keefe has always done her best to help out.  So, following consultation with a Nassau vet, we were armed with hydrogen peroxide, neosporin and antibiotics. 

Today officially marks the beginning of DCP's 2008 field season (insert horns blaring, wild cheering, etc.)!  The brief plane ride over was uneventful, at least after I made it through the chaos that was the Ft.

Hello everyone!  It's Kelly Melillo here, research leader for DCP's Bimini field site.  This may not get posted right away, but today is 10 March 2007 and I'm only about 50 miles from Bimini!  I arrived in Ft.