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Lasting legacies

Lasting Legacies: Orca Action Month 2023

Each June we celebrate Orca Month and the unique community of Southern Resident orcas, and this...
North Atlantic right whale - Peter Flood

Whale AID 2023: A Night of Music and Hope for North Atlantic Right Whales

The inaugural Whale AID concert to support Whale and Dolphin Conservation's (WDC's) work to protect...
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Meet the 2023 Interns: Thomas Zoutis

I'm happy to introduce WDC's first Marine Mammal Conservation Intern of the year, Thomas Zoutis!...
MicrosoftTeams-image (9)

Double Your Impact for Marine Animal Rescue & Response

On a chilly day this past December, the WDC North America team celebrated the first...
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WDC’s Education Wishlist = Cleared!

To the WDC Community, I want to thank you so much for your support of...
Hysazu Photography

Looking forward for Southern Resident orcas in 2023

Hysazu Photography 2022 was a big year for Southern Resident orcas - 2022 brought the...
Credit: Seacoast Science Center

The Unlikely Adventure of Shoebert, a Young Grey Seal Who Visited an Industrial Park Pond

Credit: Seacoast Science Center In mid-September, our stranding partners in northern Massachusetts were inundated with...
Leaping harbour porpoise

The power of harbour porpoise poo

We know we need to save the whale to save the world. Now we are...

Body Language in Bottlenose Dolphins

When you are involved in watching and studying bottlenose dolphin behaviour for any length of time, you begin to notice certain body positions that occur every so often and one that fascinates me is an activity known as “S” posturing. What happens is, as you can see in my recent photo below of ID#1018 “Bodhi” (one of the cheeky sub-adult males) the dolphin breaches from the water and holds its body in a rigid “S” shape with the head raised and the pectoral fins held out stiffly from the body.  photo Bodhi S Posturing.jpg As the dolphin falls towards the water ready for re-entry, the dolphins head and chin is forcefully slapped on the water and this complete activity can be repeated many times. Theories for this type of dolphin “body language” favour a state of annoyance or irritation, directed at either another dolphin or possibly an unfamiliar inanimate object in the dolphins’ large territory, such as a boat. I love watching behaviour like this as I think that it just adds to the fascination that we have with these sensitive and highly intelligent marine mammals who have a very complicated social life and structure. This is yet another reason why no cetacean should ever be confined to a cramped and filthy tank.

Find out more facts about dolphins.