Boat-Boat

Boat trips a poppin  dolphin social group pod

This afternoon I had two boat trips in a row. And when I say in a row I really mean in a row! We went from 12:00 to 14:00, picked up a second batch of tourists and left immediately for another trip from 14:00 until 16:00. I have to say that 1 boat trip usually tires me out and I look forward to heading back home and taking a nice warm shower. But after over 4 hours out on the water today, I was ready for more! Even though it was raining for a while, the air and water were both nice and warm. And best of all, the dolphins were out in force! We found many groups of females with calves as well as socializing subadults. I have great video of dolphins foraging for fish in the sand, as well as some more video of the neonates. At one point, a group of subadult females and adult males ‘included’ me in some socializing they were doing out by Motone. I have seen many of these individuals doing the same thing before, and it seems that each time they let me get a little closer and stick around me a little longer. Great video footage! In this group I saw #356 (Ringo-chan), #351 (Dokkiri), #010 (Mouchou), #008 (Kobuhei), #055 (Mahha), among others. It was mostly older males with younger females who had not yet had calves. Perhaps they were looking to become mothers? dolphin sankaku dorsal fin In addition, I found #073 (Sankaku) together with #066 (Omizu-chan) and her brand new neonate. Sankaku is an older female who seems to spend a lot of time with the younger mothers – perhaps she is the grandmotherly type. Sankaku is the Japanese word for ‘triangle’, and if you look at the picture of Sankaku above, you can see why she gets this name; her dorsal is shaped very much like a triangle. So let’s hope that the weather stays nice so I can get back out on the boats tomorrow!

-Justin