Birthing Season is Here!

The 10,000 Islands Dolphin Study Project is owned and operated by Dolphin Explorer LLC and the program has been monitoring the social behavior, abundance, travel range, genealogy, survival rate and overall well-being of the bottlenose dolphin population around Marco Island, Florida and its surroundings. The program has 17 years of data regarding this group and quarterly reports are shared throughout the world. The study continues…

It's September and our team is really excited! Birthing season is here, and we have a list of 13 females that could potentially give birth this Fall. More than likely, we will only document about 10 to 12 new calves, but the potential is there for more.

In the north Marco Island waters, our primary birthing months are September and October. Calves can be born any time of the year, but we do witness 90-95% of new babies during these months. Why are they born in the Fall? No one has a clear answer. On the south end of Marco, calves are born during the summer months of July and August. In other parts of Florida, birthing might happen in April.

It's a mystery why this happens the way it does.

Now, all of our dolphins have names, and the majority of those names have been chosen by guests on our tours when a new calf is seen for the first time. Dolphins can be identified by markings on their dorsal fin, that fin on their back that you see when they come up to breathe. Dolphins will nip at each other’s dorsal fins with their teeth, leaving very distinctive nicks and notches, and that’s how they can be differentiated. Calves will stay by a mom’s side for three to four years, so we identify the mom and watch as the calf develops markings before they leave a mother’s side. The calf can then be recognized after it leaves mom.

The females that are potentials to have a calf this Fall are Kaya, Zipper, MT2, Dolly, Kaycee, Destiny, Tess, Sydney, Halfway, Nadine, Cosmo, Nibbles and Patch’s Twin. Not all will give birth but a few, like Dolly, Cosmo and Destiny are already showing that “big belly,” indicating that they may be very pregnant.

MT2 had a miscarriage in May of 2022, and her fetus was determined to be about seven months developed at that time. Within a few months, she was being followed by two of our large, dominant males and it is very possible that she became pregnant not long after. The gestation period for a dolphin is 12-12 ½ months so MT2 could very well be on schedule for a Fall birth.

Dolly is a seasoned veteran at motherhood, having had three offspring already. She is a good teacher and her latest baby, Kalani, spent four years by Dolly’s side and has learned very well from mom what to do when on its own in the near future. Kaycee, Nibbles and Patch’s Twin are also veterans at raising young. Destiny has had two offspring and her young have also done well.

Kaya had a calf last year, but it did not survive. There are predators in the waters here and not all young make it. We saw her calf, Venture, for about two months after it was born but then suddenly gone. Kaya was courted by several males. An indication that she now may be pregnant. Since her calf Venture was seen with her through a part of October last year, we will look for a new baby from Kaya in December, maybe even January with that 12-month pregnancy period.

In addition to the above-mentioned ladies, there is usually a surprise each Fall. Some of our young females reaching maturity will unexpectedly show up one day with a new calf by their sides. On our list here would be Lucky Charm, Aubrey, Coco and Anji. Females mature sexually in this area of the world at about seven years old, possibly giving birth at eight, and all of the dolphins mentioned here would fit that category.

So, our “wait and see” game is now becoming a “see” event as we roll in September! Stay tuned for updates regarding dolphin births in our area in the coming weeks!