2023 Dolphin Review

Dolphin Explorer LLC is the proprietor of the 10,000 Islands Dolphin Study Project,

Monitoring the social behavior, travel range, abundance, distribution, movement, association patterns, health and overall well-being of the bottlenose dolphin population of Marco Island, Florida. With nearly 18 years of comprehensive data, the study continues…..

As we bring 2023 to a close, I can’t say strongly enough how honored I am to be a part of this dolphin study team. Monitoring the daily activities of our dolphin population with Environmental Scientist Ed Farr and Marine Biologist James Livaccari has been an amazing experience. Collaborating our thoughts, theories and, most importantly, our documented information has taken our journey to new educational findings. Chronologically, here are some of the more interesting details recorded for this year.

As a dolphin study program, we know how to identify our dolphins and we document data on every excursion. In February we marveled at the return of a two-year-old calf to our area named Cubbie. Hurricane Ian struck our study area hard in September 2022, and immediately after, an adult female named Halfway and her not yet two-year-old calf Cubbie were not seen and did not return to the residential habitat shared with our other dolphins. After a few months, the team surmised that they were swept away, hopefully taking up residence in another area. In February, to our surprise, Cubbie was seen back at home, but mom Halfway has yet to return. Just over two years old in February, Cubbie had lots of family company to socialize and feed with. Specifically, four brothers and sisters as well as a few nieces and nephews. Cubbie just turned three years old in December and is doing well in the Marco River, bays and estuaries.

In April, Cubbie’s nephew, 19-month-old Fergie, was documented and photographed with fishing line tangled around his tail fin. After a few weeks of sending photos to Florida Wildlife Commission and NOAA and citing that the line was tightening, it was deemed a “life-threatening” event. On April 25th, more than 40 volunteers arrived in our area. My wife and I were on the water at 7:30 AM to locate Fergie and his mom to expedite a rescue. Once we found them, we made a call to the waiting team and a rescue began. The dolphins were captured, the line released from Fergie’s tail, and he was given some antibiotics then released back into the wild. Our team was very instrumental in saving this little guy’s life! This is the third rescue that the team has initiated in the last 11 years. Fergie is doing well!

In June, while hosting the Ambassadors of the Environment class in conjunction with Marco Island Academy and the Cousteau Future Scientist program, we got a call about something strange in Factory Bay, near Rose Marina. When we arrived and began taking photos it was obvious that we were all looking at a pygmy whale, which is not found in our section of the Gulf waters. A call was quickly placed to Florida Wildlife and they arrived to do what they could for this unique creature.

September began our birthing season, which typically occurs mostly in September, October and November each year. As of this writing, nine new calves were documented in 2023, two of them to first-time moms. The surprise of the year came when adult female Kaya gave birth on December 10th or 11th.  The team was hopeful that she would give birth in late Fall and she delivered (no pun intended).

Our study program documented two potential male pair bond couples evolving in our society. Two males will actually form a lifetime bond to do just about everything together in their society. We know of three dominant male pair bonds existing in our waters. Looks like these boys might have some new competition!

We noted shark bite marks on adult female Avery recently. Her calf Snowflake is just over one year old and a prime target for bull sharks in the area. Looks like mom actually jumped between the predator and prey, with the shark taking mom Avery’s entire dorsal fin into its mouth before retreating. Avery will have a scar for life but, most likely, saved her baby’s life that day. 

We also learned about the travel range of moms and calves of a very young age, actually just a few months old. All of our previous documentation showed that a mom and new calf would stay in a limited area, known as a “natal range,” to teach the youngster where to feed. However, our Marine Biologist James saw mom Mt2 and her three-month-old calf, Spirit, by the Naples pier when paddleboarding a few months ago!

There are a few other events that could be mentioned here but time and space are limited. But the work of the program is being recognized. In November 2022, the Paradise Coast Conventions and Visitors Bureau recognized the team with the “Shining Star” award as the best eco-adventure in Southwest Florida. In January of this year, we were noted in a column in the London Times. July and August found us in National Geographic’s Traveler Magazine. In October of this year, we were the only Marco Island nominee for the “Shining Star” award! Also, Tripadvisor has their Traveler’s Choice Awards going out to the top 10% of events worldwide and we received that award in 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023. 

We submit quarterly reports to colleges and other dolphin study programs here in the U.S. and overseas regarding our study and findings. We will begin posting these results on our website in January 2024, as well as an online dolphin directory so that you can learn and identify the dolphins we discuss. 

I am so blessed to work with such a passionate and amazing team that helped to educate and entertain more than 11,000 guests in 2023. We all look forward to bringing you new and updated information about our dolphin population during 2024.

Most importantly, we thank our customers and readers for your continued support of our program and acknowledgment of our efforts to educate guests, scientists and wannabes around the world. Our work is important so thanks for recognizing it!

On behalf of the entire team, Eddie, James, Cathy, Nikki, Kailee and myself, a very blessed, prosperous and healthy new year to all. We’ll see you in 2024!