Dolphin Birthing Season is Here! Part One

Dolphin Explorer LLC is the proprietor of the 10,000 Islands Dolphin Study Project. Begun in 2006, the current survey team studies the abundance, social behavior, well-being, travel range and genealogy of the local bottlenose dolphin population around Marco Island and surrounding areas. The study continues….

It’s hard for me to contain my excitement when on the water at this time of year! Maybe it’s the little boy in me or the budding scientist that’s constantly trying to learn more…or maybe a little of both!

For our bottlenose dolphins around the north end of Marco Island, it is birthing season. Although new calves can be born anytime during the year, this area tends to see the majority in September and October. On the south side of Marco, several births have been reported to me by eco-tour operators and birthing season there typically begins in July or August.

What is really exciting for the north side this year is the number of females that can potentially calve. The most births in any given season, in my records, has been ten new calves and that was in 2018. In 2021 the possibilities are much higher. The females have reached a record number of….23!

They are Aubrey, Anji, Chip, Coco, Cosmo, Darwina, G3, Jing Jing, Kaya, Kaycee, Lucky Charm, Mia, Moab, Nadine, Orange, Payton, Skipper, Sparkle, Sparky, Sydney, Tess, Victoria, and Zipper.

Some of the females named above are not seen as regularly as others and a few show characteristics and social behavior similar to other females but they may actually be males. Not to leave any potentials out of our study, these questionable prospects are on our list. Let’s meet a few now, then watch the next edition of Coastal Breeze News to learn about more of them in Part Two of this series.

Aubrey is a daughter of Avery, one of the more productive moms in the area. In recent years Aubrey has kept steady company with Keegan and Double Dip but lately has been seen on her own in an area where she was born and raised. Born in 2009 Aubrey would be fully mature and ready to reproduce.

Anji has been seen on occasion babysitting newer sibling Stefin to give mom Avery a short break. Some females may reach sexual maturity at seven years old. With a pregnancy (gestation) period of twelve months, Anji turns eight years old this fall and is a potential candidate to give birth.

Chip is an experienced mom with four known offspring over the years. Her three-year-old calf, Guac, has been seen on its own, an indication that Chip may have a new arrival soon. This female is sighted around the ABC Islands on occasion.

Coco would be a first-time mom this fall and is regularly keeping company with other females lately. Her siblings are Jayson, Popcorn and Murphy, from adult female Nibbles. Coco turns nine this fall.

Cosmo is seen mostly at the entrance to Rookery Bay, around Marker 21, along the Intracoastal Waterway and has had two known offspring. She was sighted recently jumping out of the water with her three-year-old Humboldt and Cosmo looks pretty big!

Darwina also has two known offspring named Rose and Ginger. The latter turns three this month and Darwina was followed very often last fall by two of our big males, indicating that she may have become pregnant at that time. What’s the gestation period again? Yep, one year, so she is on the list.

G3 is a dolphin from the Goodland area but travels to our survey area several times throughout the year. She has two known offspring named Pancake and Muffin. Muffin turns three this fall, an indication that G3 might have a new calf.

Jing Jing gave birth to her first calf in 2017. In mid-summer of 2020 her youngster, Jordan, left her side and Jing Jing looked pretty big, all of this suggesting that she would give birth last fall. While no new calf was seen in 2020, indications are that she may have had a new calf that did not survive. She has kept consistent company with her own mom, Sydney, over the past few months and speculation is that both may be pregnant at this time. Sydney would be the grandmother of young Jordan, but still able to produce young of her own. We’ll look for Jing Jing to give birth later in the fall if, indeed, she is pregnant.

Kaya is the daughter of our most productive female, Halfway. Kaya gave birth to her first calf, Ariel, in 2018 and, if Kaya follows mom’s regular pattern of having a new baby virtually every three years, she would have a new little one this fall.

We’ll stop here for now, but you can see that many of the moms that gave birth in 2018 would now be eligible to give birth again this year. Time will tell, but it looks like a very interesting season this fall!

Stay tuned to the next edition to meet more of our potential moms for later this year!

Bob is a Master Naturalist working with the dolphin survey team onboard the Dolphin Explorer. He is a two-time national award-winning columnist for Coastal Breeze News and a regular speaker at area venues. He has published two books about wildlife and is an owner of Wild Florida Ecotours that conducts nature studies from Port of the Islands. Bob loves his wife very much!