The Photo-ID team had another successful survey in February! The morning was busy with two sightings, and the afternoon slowed down with no dolphins observed for the remainder of the day.
The first sighting occurred in the Atlantic near Key Largo and initially consisted of 8 dolphins, who were later joined by an additional group of 4 dolphins. This was likely a maternal pod, as there were a several calves present. The dolphins were observed slowly traveling and displaying social behavior. While under surveillance, one dolphin was observed with a shallow healing wound from an unsuccessful predation attempt by a shark.
The second sighting also occurred in the Atlantic further south near Tavernier. In this sighting, multiple groups of dolphins (28 dolphins in total) were observed ‘milling’ in the same area. Many dolphins in this large group were also maternal pods with several adult/calf pairs present. Of particular interest in this sighting, one of the young calves was also observed with a healing wound from an encounter with a shark, and a previously cataloged adult dolphin with a skin disorder on its dorsal fin was re-sighted."
Photo-ID research authorized under NMFS LOC# 21556 (S.D. McCulloch).
