And Birthing Season Begins…Early!

The 10,000 Islands Dolphin Study Project is the property of Dolphin Explorer LLC and has been monitoring the daily activity of the local bottlenose dolphin population of north Marco Island for more than 18 years. Their social behavior, travel range, feeding habits, genealogy, survival rate and more are documented and data is shared with institutions around the world regarding the findings….the study continues…. 

To start, I have to say that the Fall of 2023 produced some surprises regarding new births of our bottlenose dolphin population around north Marco Island. In total, 11 new babies were documented, as well as identification of the mothers and the history of these families were updated. 

The team on board the Dolphin Explorer did not see our first newborn of 2023 until September 12th, which is typical. The majority of births in our study area take place in September, October, and November, with an occasional birth seen in August or later in the year. The first few births of the year were first-time mothers producing a calf. Our first newborn by an experienced mom, one that has already had a baby, didn’t occur until mid-October. 

2024, however, is starting off with a bang! On August 19th, our Marine Biologist James and I actually witnessed a baby being born in Factory Bay, close to Rose Marina. James noticed a commotion in the water, and three adult females were thrashing about. All of a sudden, a new calf was breached to the surface by one of the females, and this little one was taking its first breath. 

It's not unusual for several females to be nearby when a mom gives birth so they can help raise the infant to the surface for that initial puff of air and also watch for any predators that may be close by. Looking at the markings on the dorsal fins - the fins on their back that are visible when they surface - we identified Payton, Manhattan, and Kay Cee, all adult females. 

The new calf was in the center of these three ladies, making it very difficult to determine which one was the mom. We stayed with them for nearly 15 minutes, but the calf was still centered among the females. It would take another sighting to determine the mom. 

The very next day, Kay Cee was there with her baby, and no other females were in the area. The calf was named Mattie after a young girl on board during the initial sighting. The girl’s name was Mathilda, but if this newborn is a boy, he might grow up with a complex, being called a girl’s name. Mattie would fit a girl or boy for the name, and so it was named. 

Kay Cee is an experienced mom,and this is her fourth known calf. While many of our females have a calf by their side for about three years, Kay Cee has been giving birth at five to six-year intervals. In 2007, she delivered Slick Joey, 2013 was Manhattan, 2018 Sunshine, and Mattie born August 19, 2024. This is apparently a pattern that suits Kay Cee. 

But wait! There’s more! On Sunday, August 25th, James and Captain Eddie were on the water with guests, and they sighted mom Darwina….with a new baby! Our last sighting of Darwina was August 9th, and she was by herself. The calf appeared to be a week old or more, likely born around August 15th to 20th. We had one of the disc jockeys, Stan, of Stan and Haney on board when Darwina’s calf was first sighted. They are retiring from 96 K-Rock, and the baby was named DJ to honor Stan and Haney’s 30+ years in the radio business. 

Darwina has been a very busy lady since we first met her in 2006 when the study began. She gave birth that year to Bouncer and has had seven offspring in these last 18 years. In addition to Bouncer, her babies have been Gumbo, Omni, Rose, Ginger, Mary Sue, and, just recently, DJ, averaging a newborn about every three years. 

As mentioned, most of our new calves are seen September through November for the first time. I believe this is the first documentation of two experienced moms giving birth in August. We have about 12 more females on our list that are “possibles” to give birth soon and of those 12, eight are “probables” to have a baby within the next 90 days. Time will tell….stay tuned!