The dolphins have no concept of “personal space”! Or maybe they did not think I needed any as they were all over me and around me during the first 30 minute session this morning. The cacophony of sound was intense and filled with whistles, click trains and some odd squawk-like sounds that were not aggressive. Maury leaped over me or next to me several times. She and Gracie both like to impose their bodies into my space … sort of an intimidation pose.
It took me the full session but once I was done I began to recognize the individual scars and marks. Ronnie has a new little notch in his dorsal fin. Anthony has lots of spots on his belly and rakes along his peduncle. Dixon and Margarita were hard at first to ID, but the fact that Dixon is male and Marg is female helped narrow my choices. I did not see Carmella on this entry … but everyone else made an appearance. Some individuals even poked at or pushed at me. But, generally, they were behaving normally. Neat to see and I am working on sketches this afternoon.
More data collection on Saturday morning … and then we greet our eco-tour participants. We have 4 people joining us to help with data collection and preliminary processing.
Cheers
Kathleen