Why marine mammals are climate sentinels
October 25, 2023
It’s baby season in the Atlantic!
October 27, 2023
A strong swell accompanied us on all tours today. The sea had calmed down very little from yesterday. But today we could go out to sea. Tomorrow things will be different again. A strong wind is forecast, which will prevent us from going out.
In the morning we saw Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) right as we were went out, and at noon we covered a long distance to also observe Bottlenose dolphins at the last moment right in front of the harbor.
Both times the animals stayed between the nets of the fish farm. Since last year, we have increasingly observed that our coastal Bottlenose dolphins seek their fish there in a simple way, like a Sashimi MacDonald. When the fishes are fed in the fish farm, this also attract fishes outside the nets. These are what the Bottlenose dolphins are after. Of course, one can acknowledge the dolphins’ ability to be intelligent enough to make a profit from human activities in the coastal region. But one cannot ignore the negative impact on the animals’ natural behavior. Those who can obtain food in such a convenient way will do so regularly. We can observe this at the moment. But what if the school teaches its calves to get their food here? What if the dolphin school stops teaching its offspring how to hunt fish in the open sea? Without a doubt, it is clear that the Sashimi MacDonald is bringing about a change in natural behavior.
By Fatima Kutzschbach
Sightings of the day
Ribeira Brava
09:30 Bottlenose dolphins, Loggerhead turtle
13:30 Bottlenose dolphins
Stenella
09:30 Bottlenose dolphins, Loggerhead turtle
13:30 Bottlenose dolphins
16:30 Bottlenose dolphins, Loggerhead turtle
