![]() The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin to store whether or not the user has consented to the use of cookies. This cookie is set by Twitch to help in load balancing and optimizing the visitor experience. The cookie is a session cookies and is deleted when all the browser windows are closed. The cookie is used to store and identify a users' unique session ID for the purpose of managing user session on the website. This cookie is native to PHP applications. This is a security cookie set by Force24 to detect BOTS and malicious traffic. Squarespace sets this cookie to prevent cross-site request forgery (CSRF). It works only in coordination with the primary cookie. Records the default button state of the corresponding category & the status of CCPA. ![]() This cookie is managed by Amazon Web Services and is used for load balancing. This cookie is set by the Google recaptcha service to identify bots to protect the website against malicious spam attacks. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. ![]() We will choose what we think is the best name in a few weeks.įor further information about adopting an Australian dolphin please contact our Australian office at: WDC Australasia is relaunching our dolphin adoption program and we have decided to give new adopters the opportunity to name Scarlett’s new baby. This calf still has clearly defined “foetal folds”, creases in its skin from when it was squashed up in its mother’s womb during the long 12 months of gestation, indicating it is still only a few days old. Particularly satisfying is seeing female calves grow up and have their own calves, especially when, like Scarlett, their early lives were so precarious.ĭolphins in this community mostly give birth in late summer and during a survey last week I was overjoyed to discover Scarlett with a brand new calf. One of the joys of conducting long term research on the same group of dolphins is watching them develop over the years. It is always hard finding appropriate names for newly identified dolphins but in this case it was easy: this young dolphin with the shark attack scar had to be called Scarlett. Presumably the calf’s mother had somehow repelled the shark and saved the young dolphin’s life. The scar was almost certainly the result of a shark attack. These dolphins are perhaps the most urbanised in the whole world, living as they do almost in the heart of a city of a million people.Ībout twenty years ago I observed a mum with a young dolphin with a vicious looking crescent scar across its whole dorsal fin. Please visit or call 239 994-2572.I have been studying a community of some 50 resident dolphins living in the Port River estuary (Adelaide, Australia) for the past 25 years. As a professional charter captain she specializes in dolphin and nature tours. Cathy Eagle has spent over 40 years boating in our local waters. Each mom has a signature whistle that she uses to call her calf and each calf knows its mother’s whistle.įemale dolphins become grandmothers at around age 40, and tend to their grandchildren in many of the same ways humans do.Ĭapt. They communicate with squeaks, whistles and clicks. Moms form playgroups and even nurse for each other. Nursery pods can number a dozen or more females. Female dolphins that have bonded with each other swim together in these nursery pods to help care for and protect their young. Once the young female becomes pregnant, she joins the nursery pod of other females. It is a practice that they will need as the full realities of motherhood set in. This is why young females spend more time foraging for fish. Nursing moms need a lot of calories to nurse their offspring. They give birth to one calf every 2-3 years.īeing a successful adult female dolphin requires caring for calves that aren’t weaned until they are at least 3 years old. Females become sexually mature at around 5 to 10 years of age. This behavior during the juvenile period is an important opportunity to develop the skills necessary for upcoming demands of birth and child rearing. Young females prefer to hang out with other females and spend twice as much time as their male counterparts foraging for fish. Females tend to stay close to their mothers and extended female family. Even though the young dolphins flit from group to group as often as every 10 minutes throughout the day, they tend to spend more time with a few close friends or relatives. They live in ever-changing groups that come together, split up and come together again in different combinations.
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