Category: Japan 2006

A lazy dolphin day Two boat trips in a row today! I am pretty tired! It was warm and sunny with some choppy water on the west side of the island. There were 3 sick passengers on the afternoon trip – I think they were as much sick from the currents in the water as the rough conditions on the boat. Hardly a trip goes by without at least one passenger feeding the fish (if you catch my drift).

Today’s trip was filled with inquisitive subadults, including Ketsushakure (#404) who I saw a lot of last year.

Hamlet the Survivor Another boat trip today and yet another planned for tomorrow! Yeah! So some of you readers might recall the story of a little dolphin I wrote about during last year’s field season: Hamlet. Hamlet (now given the number #561) is the calf of Hamu-chan (#086). Sometime just a few months after he was born, he survived a terrible shark attack. I spotted him quite often last year and was relieved to see that he was doing just fine despite some very heavy scarring.

Peculiar inquisitive behavior Today was a good dolphin day. An early morning boat trip brought us some mediocre weather conditions, but some fantastic dolphin video. After surviving what I term “Lumbar Waves” (choppy water conditions that bounce you up and down in an apparent attempt to cause permanent spinal damage to the lower lumbar region), we came across an inquisitive group of subadults down by Subarune. There is a small stretch of sand flats just offshore – a contrast to the usual boulder strewn bottom found around the rest of the island.

Video ID all finished! Today was my birthday. So what did I do to celebrate? Video ID! I had no boat trips and lots of free time, so I managed my way through all of the outstanding videos. There was a little celebration in my honor this evening – beer, fish, tofu, etc. The usual Mikura goodies. As a treat for my guests, I fried up 3 pounds of meat! Meat is a precious commodity here on Mikura, and I received 3 pounds of it as a gift yesterday.

A goofball of a day I had been having a trouble free field season so far. Until today. I did it to myself again this time; I had just recently written an email to Kathleen giving her an update on progress here in Mikura. “Everything is running like a well oiled machine” I wrote. Doh! I jinxed myself again! There was clearly no oil involved in my latest boat trip. Today was a Bridget Jones day – awkward and ill-fated. It went down more like a circus act than a research trip.

A marine mammal free day I decided to take a break from dolphin data today. There were no boat trips – the boats are packed for the weekend. And since I have a trip lined up for tomorrow anyway, I thought I deserved a day of rest.

An unsupervised party rages on under the waves Today was sunny but chilly. The water was oh so cold! I shiver just thinking about it. But every time I catch myself wishing that I was in the Bahamas, swimming around in the warm waters off of Bimini, I quickly remind myself that you simply can’t beat the Mikura dolphins! I am constantly surprised by the crazy things these guys get up to, and their total lack of fear (and interest usually) of the humans that crop up in their path.

Crazy dolphins and resourceful birds A sudden boat trip this afternoon turned out to be a huge success. The conditions were optimal – warm water, warm air, plenty of dolphins and calm seas. We found a group of resting dolphins – females with calves. I do not think they were happy with the boat following them. #001 (Kuchizure), an older matriarch type dolphin, began tail slapping the surface of the water, and threatened us with the open mouth Angry Jaw display when we got in the water.

Crazy high waves bring out the dolphins I had two boat trips today and I am exhausted. We saw plenty of dolphins on both trips, but the weather turned kind of nasty in the afternoon, so the second trip had some rough conditions. Not far from the pier we spotted several groups of dolphins frolicking (yes, really frolicking) in the high waves crashing against the shore. They were leaping and surfing the big waves in. The surf tossed our little boat around, and it made getting on and off the boat quite challenging – especially with the MVA.

The mother of all dolphin days What a perfect day. The weather was wonderful – sunny and warm. The bad news: my morning dolphin trip was cancelled. The good news: Kogi-san (housemate, friend and fellow researcher) offered to take Nana-chan and I out on a special dolphin watching trip solely for research! And lucky for us, today was the unofficial “Dolphin Census Day” here on Mikura. It felt like every single dolphin that had ever been seen around Mikura decided to make an appearance today. We saw 3 different groups – each containing 25 to 30 dolphins.