Dolphin Birthing Season is Near!

Mid-Summer is here and the crew aboard the Dolphin Explorer is excited about the upcoming birthing season! Although dolphin calves around Marco Island can be born any time of the year, the majority of births around north Marco Island occur in September and October. Folks on the water in south Marco have witnessed seeing new calves in July and August. That being said, keep a lookout for some youngsters around the island very soon.

Since our program concentrates mainly on the north Marco dolphin population, we have made a list of females that may give birth this fall. In total, 15 ladies could potentially have a new calf soon. It is highly unlikely that we will have all of these females give birth, but it is quite probable that 10 to 12 could be born.

The names of our dolphins are chosen primarily by the guests on our tours when we see a newborn for the very first time. So here are the ladies that might become moms: Sparkle, Sparky, Tess, Sydney, Sintas, Orange, Batman, Lucky Charm, Rakes, Kaya, Nadine, Chip, Avery, Dolly and KayCee.

Typically, a calf will stay with its mom for three to four years so those females that gave birth in 2020 and 2021, 13 of them, would not be on our list to have a new baby this fall. The ladies most likely to give birth this year would be Sydney, Sintas, Orange, Batman, Rakes, Chip, Avery, Dolly and KayCee. These are all seasoned veterans with at least one calf in their family trees and have been successful at raising young.

But there is usually a surprise each year, mainly by a young female that has reached maturity in the past year or by an older female that has not yet had a calf. Take, for instance, Lucky Charm. She turns 16 this fall but has not produced an offspring that we know of. If she does have a calf, that would make Lucky Charm’s mom, Avery, a grandmother for the first time. We’ve actually documented five grandmothers in the Marco area in recent years. Avery would be number six. It is also possible that Avery could give birth in the same year as her daughter Lucky Charm. Wouldn’t that be exciting?

We expected Kaya to have a baby last fall, but it did not happen. As a result, her son Ariel spent an extra year by mom’s side learning life’s skills in the water. In recent weeks we have seen Ariel away from mom Kaya on occasion. This could be a sign that Kaya is pregnant.

The same holds true for female Sparky. Her son Porkchop stayed by her side past its third birthday but has moved away from mom in recent months. Again, this is a possible sign that Sparky may be pregnant.

The only sure way to know which females will give birth is very simple: wait and see. Over the past years, since 2018, our team has documented 32 new calves born in the north Marco waters with 28 surviving. Unfortunately, there are predators in the waters and not every calf lives to be an adult. But an 87% survival rate is nice and high compared to other areas.

So, stay tuned to the Coastal Breeze News for updates in a few months. You can also log on to our website, dolphin-study.com, to keep up with progress of the young and enjoy our survey findings. 

Until then, feel free to join our Facebook page for updates or stop by our booth at Rose Marina to learn more. Best yet, join us on an excursion to see for yourself how our dolphins are doing! Talk soon!

Bob is a Florida Master Naturalist and lead Naturalist on the Dolphin Explorer’s dolphin study program. He is the author of two books and is twice a national award-winning columnist for Coastal Breeze News. He is a regular speaker at area venues as well. Bob loves his wife very much!