Much rubbing, contact and whistling among the dolphins. Our Wednesday beach trip/picnic was cancelled due to wind, some rain and rough seas (a Beaufort 5!). So, we spent the early AM (Kathleen was in the water by
7AM) observing the dolphins at Bailey's Key. The dolphins were very active with much whistling and social rubbing. Nothing out of the ordinary but
Esteban and Rita both examined Alita's belly.
We reviewed the last 2 days of video with help from some of our volunteer researchers (Team #2).
Beasley and GeeGee fought, then reconciled. We recorded behavior and sounds for a bit more than 60 minutes. The dolphins were vocalizing, especially whistling, almost non-stop. Alita, the pregnant
female, looked very large, like a guppy. She should have her calf within the next month. Beasley and GeeGee seemed mildly annoyed with each other. GeeGee
was whistling with bubbles constantly. Mika, GeeGee's calf, has remained in a side pen for the last 2 days. Mika went in and has refused to come out. We don't know why.
The clouds did not dim enthusiasm. For most of our group, this was their first time ever to touch a dolphin. The agreed-upon description of dolphin skin from the team is 'like a hard-boiled
egg' (with teeth and a playful attitude). The dolphins enjoyed diving to the bottom with Nancy and Bill while they pulled eel grass toys or swam upside
down. John was curious about how the dolphins stop so quickly ater a speed swim.