Two new calves!

Some dolphins interested, some not.

There was still about a two meter swell from the south but mostly the sea was calm. Under water the visibility was horrible: 2-3 meters tops! But, we still saw dolphins. Our first sighting was brief and the dolphins really were not interested. Only two in a group of about 10 individuals snuck up on us from below … silently. If I'd not looked to my left, I would have missed them completely. Sighting #2 was better. A group of at least 12 dolphins and playing in the surge zone close to shore between Nango and Motone on the SE section of Mikura. We saw several adult females … a few that appear to be pregnant, too! A few juveniles and subadults swam VERY close … within 0.5 meters of me and decided to spin me around; that is, they swam very tight circles around me. (I had to stop a few times … too dizzy!) This was a mixed group with group members playing and socializing. A few times we thought they had moved off but then they returned like speeding bullets and played around us again. Three times, I saw two new calves … they had fetal folds along their bodies. It seemed that the moms, or caretakers, were displaying the new calves to me. I have never before had such young calves swim so close to me for such an extended time! I'll have to make sure to distinguish my shrieks of delight from the many dolphin whistles on my recordings. It felt GREAT to be back on and under the water. I hoep to have another trip tomorrow afternoon. Will keep you updated. Cheers Kathleen P.S. This is sort of an addendum to Sunday's posting. I had the opportunity to hike up Mikura's Oyama on Sunday afternoon. The views were spectacular!! No clouds at all and the day was warm but breezy. The peak is at 850.9 meters and I stood on it. As soon as I get the chance to pull some clips from my video (of the hike), I will post some photos to show you all what Mikura's mountain looks like.