Bottlenose Dolphins

The 10,000 Islands Dolphin Study Project is owned and operated by Dolphin Explorer LLC and is an ongoing research adventure that monitors the travel range, social behavior, habits, and genealogy of the local bottlenose dolphins. Our database is shared with more than 20 institutions around the world and dates back to 2006. The study continues….

 It is estimated the Dolphin Explorer will experience more than 400 hundred tours this year, sharing our scientific study and award-winning eco-tour with thousands of guests. Dolphins can be identified by unique nips and markings on their dorsal fins - that fin you see when they come up to breathe - and the guests get to know these area cetaceans by means of a catalog on the boat that handily allows for easy identification.

When an adult female has a calf in our region, that young will stay with mom typically three to four years before going out on its own. Many of our females now have multiple offspring and some of the social behavior we are noticing within the family structure is very interesting.

It is not unusual for the young family members to spend some time with their mothers even after they are on their own. Some of these “family reunions” can involve several offspring and provide some unique dynamics. In recent years, the team has actually noticed some “babysitting” activity going on!

For example, our adult female named Halfway is currently raising a calf named Cubbie, born in December 2020. She also has a son, Wyatt, who turns five years old in September and a daughter named Skipper that turns eight next month. Halfway has also given birth to several other offspring, but she has been depending on Wyatt and Skipper lately for some sibling duties…babysitting!

On occasion we have seen either Wyatt or Skipper playing with eight-month-old Cubbie while mom steals away to catch her dinner or enjoy a brief rest. The team has noticed this quite a bit more with this calf than with Halfway’s previous offspring, but it is not something brand new. Most of the babysitting duties seem to be performed by Wyatt. This five-year-old still feeds and rests where he was raised, which is right where Cubbie is currently being raised, so they see a lot of each other. We have seen them playing tag, flipping mangrove seed pods around and watched Wyatt virtually lift Cubbie right out of the water!

Eight-year-old Skipper has been seen watching Cubbie for mom as well in recent months. There may be a good reason for Skipper’s involvement at this time. She appears to be gaining weight and spending more time by herself which might be an indication that she is pregnant! If so, Cubbie may have a new niece or nephew in the next month or two.

Babysitting is nothing new for Skipper. When Halfway gave birth to Wyatt just about five years ago, Skipper was seen watching this newborn for mom!

Another adult female, Avery, gave birth last fall to Stefin, and this youngster’s eight-year-old sibling Anji and fifteen-year-old Lucky Charm have both been seen giving mom a breather and playing with young Stefin on occasion. Anji, in particular, has been very active with Stefin.

There was another sighting which was quite puzzling, initially, for the survey team. Popcorn, turning five this fall and Fireball, turning six very soon, were seen playing with a young dolphin that appeared to be one to two years old. There was no adult female in sight and calves typically stay nearby to moms for at least three years. While these three youngsters enjoyed their playtime, the team searched the waters for any sign of an adult female, but none was seen. A moment of panic set in until, from around the back side of an island, here comes our mom Sintas, mother of the young Jimbo, that was playing with Popcorn and Fireball. It now all made sense. Fireball is the older sibling of Jimbo and was babysitting while mom Sintas grabbed a bite to eat!

It now seems apparent that offspring have an allegiance to moms and perform certain tasks to help out with “family chores” even though they have left mom’s side for good! Our team will continue to pass on information about these amazing creatures as we gather more data.

Recording data about our local dolphins is both fun and rewarding but understanding the logic behind some of the behavior that is observed makes the process even more rewarding. Babysitters…. who knew!

Bob is a Naturalist on board the dolphin survey vessel Dolphin Explorer that departs from Rose Marina. He is the author of two books, a two-time award-winning columnist for Coastal Breeze News, and a popular speaker at local venues. Oh, yes…. Bob loves his wife very much!!!!