Posts Tagged ‘Rissos dolphin’
Familiar Fins, New Faces and Bizarre Encounters … !!
Ask anyone and they’ll tell you that Scotland has been having a dismal summer this year, low temperatures and rain and wind galore. The weather however isn’t going to stop our dolphins go about their daily business and so we returned (even more determined than ever) to our field site on the Isle of Lewis…
Read MoreAlbino Risso’s dolphin among latest victims of the drive hunts
On January 17th, 2014 over 250 bottlenose dolphins were driven into the killing Cove in Taiji, Japan, prompting one of the most politically-charged responses against the drive hunts from the global community in the past decade. US Ambassador Caroline Kennedy tweeted about her concerns, claiming that these hunts were inhumane. Among the pod was a…
Read MoreBottlenose and more Risso’s dolphins killed in recent drive hunts in Japan
The first bottlenose dolphins to be driven into the killing cove this season met an all-too-familiar tragic fate over this past weekend in Taiji, Japan. A pod of 20-25 individuals were driven and held over the course of several days before a reported 11 were slaughtered, and five were taken alive into captivity. The remaining…
Read MoreDolphin delights at Bardsey Island
Earlier this year we were back in North Wales, at Bardsey Island (Ynys Enlli), undertaking our fieldwork into the Risso’s dolphins that make Bardsey their home during the summer and autumn months. We had a fantastic field season this year with one of our best ever encounters, we had more than 30 Risso’s dolphins…
Read MoreWild dolphin crossbreeding in UK revealed by WDC
Shrinking dolphin populations in UK waters may be causing one species to mate with another according to WDC research. WDC has recently released the first documented proof of hybridisation between wild dolphins in UK waters, where one species mates with a completely different species. In a recently published scientific paper scientific paper ,…
Read MoreRisso’s dolphins in North Wales – Bardsey fieldwork 2014
I can’t believe that this year’s Bardsey fieldwork has been and gone. Thanks to funding from Natural Resources Wales (NRW), we were able to be on Bardsey Island for two weeks in late August/ early September. Our team of two (Vicki James and myself) was reinforced by Ceri Wyn Morris, NRW’s new marine mammal specialist,…
Read MoreFamiliar Fins and Hybrid Dolphins
Encountering dolphins in the wild is a pleasure and a privilege, encountering dolphins known to you in the wild is even more special. Starting in 2010 we came to the Isle of Lewis to study and learn more about the population of Risso’s dolphins who use the area, five years on and we’re beginning to…
Read MoreShorewatch, or Haarwatch?! September’s Big Watch Weekend.
WDC Shorewatch’s bi-annual Big Watch Weekend was a brilliant success again this September. The weather was not as kind to us as it was in June with many of our Shorewatch sites covered in a thick haar for most of the weekend. It became a serious case of Haarwatch for many of us… haar haar…
Read MoreCaught on camera – meet the dolphins of the Azores
WDC’s Sarah Dolman reports on her final days in the Azores where she helped carry out field work for a local research organization, Nova Atlantis, this summer. In my 4 weeks on Pico we saw more pods of Risso’s dolphins than any other species! In the 15 years that the study has been underway, Nova…
Read MoreShorewatch’s September Big Watch Weekend
After a fantastic season it’s time for Shorewatch’s bi-annual Big Watch Weekend: 12th, 13th and 14th September. During this weekend our dedicated Shorewatchers layer up and anchor themselves to their Shorewatch sites, with the aim of completing as many Shorewatches as possible. We will then be able to see what is going on at that exact…
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