I Survived! Dolphins Versus Sharks

Lurking just below the surface of our area waters lay predators. Let the theme from the movie “Jaws” enter your thoughts and you’ll understand more clearly. Bulls, Hammerheads, Black Tip, Nurse, Bonnetheads and more are traversing the shores, canals and estuaries looking for a meal. Yes, there are sharks amongst us!

Marco Island has a very shallow ecosystem and many of these species do not get very big, but a few are large enough to go after one of our favorite aquatic attractions, the bottlenose dolphins. Primarily, only two species of sharks would be a concern for the young dolphins and that would be the Bull sharks and the Hammerheads. From birth to about three years old, the youngest dolphins in our society here are just learning to swim, turn and navigate using their amazing senses. However, they are beginners and are not as fast and agile as their counterparts of three years of age and older.

That being said, just like the rest of the animal kingdom, not all young live to see adulthood. The survey team on board the Dolphin Explorer has documented forty-three births in the last five years around north Marco Island and thirty-five of these have survived, a good rate compared to other populations around the globe. Of those thirty-five, at least six are survivors of shark attacks when they were young, and they bear the scars to prove it. Let’s meet a few of them now.

One of the more popular dolphins in our area is a female named Skipper. Born in the Fall of 2013 this young lady was bitten by a Bull shark at eight months old. The bite was on the torso and seemed fairly deep into the skin but her swimming habits indicated that there was no damage to any of her fins or organs. The team monitored her closely and she healed very quickly. Not related to the attack, Skipper’s life was saved a few months later when a fishing line became entangled around her tail fin and a major rescue ensued. She is now nine years old, and she just birthed her first calf, Fergie, sixteen months ago. The scars from the shark bite are still there.

Parton was attacked at fourteen months old and received scars on his back and around the left eye. He successfully escaped both attempts by a Bull shark to get him. The team monitored Parton, primarily because of the wound around the eye, making sure the sight was not negatively impacted. If it were, we would have called for a rescue. Parton is now over six years old and doing very, very well. His mom’s name is Dolly so, when they were side by side, we had Dolly and Parton!

Porkchop is an offspring of female Sparky and was bitten very early in life. Being slow and uncoordinated right after birth, newborns are an easy target. Photos of Porkchop’s tail fin (fluke) were observed and bite marks could be seen around an open wound. Porkchop healed well and is now over five years old. He is an uncle of two youngsters produced by his sister Orange.

Just this past Fall, adult female Rakes gave birth to her fourth calf, Pitchfork. We did not see this mom and calf together for the first time until Pitchfork was about two months old. Many of our dolphins left the area when Hurricane Ian hit on September 28th and several of them took their time returning to home grounds. In fact, mom Payton and her sixteen-month-old calf, Mary Sue, were just sighted a few weeks ago, more than three months after the big storm. Because of the photos we took it was obvious by the shape of the scar that young Pitchfork was also attacked at a very, very young age. The scar had already faded but the shape of the bite mark indicated that this, too, was a Bull Shark. Rakes used to raise all of her young in an area just off Factory Bay, but she now has Pitchfork at the entrance of the Gulf. Good chance that the attack took place in Factory Bay. She has not returned there in months.

There are a few more to speak of and their stories are fascinating as well. One additional shark encounter is really amazing, but it involves an unsuccessful shark attack! On June 14th, the team left our dock at Rose Marina and almost immediately saw a shark swimming in an unusual manner at the water’s surface. It was listing from one side to another and did not appear to be frightened by our presence. The team assumed the shark was either sick or injured. As we glanced about two hundred feet down the bay, we saw several dolphins and went to explore what they were doing. Nine-month-old Jersey had an open wound just in front of its dorsal fin, on its back, and was also swimming in an unusual manner.

There, several dolphins were forming a circle around Jersey, seemingly a protective ring to keep him safe. Mom Darwina was close to her calf’s side while several other moms were nearby in the circle as well as a nine-year-old male named Llama. With an open wound there was blood in the water, although it was minimal. There is a very strong possibility that the nearby shark sensed the blood and was ready to attack this young, injured calf. Here’s a scenario of what may have happened next.

The dolphins protecting Jersey went after the shark! A dolphin’s bottlenose is all bone and by ramming the shark in the gills, it can disrupt the ability of the shark to produce oxygen in the bloodstream, causing severe injury and possibly eliminating that shark from the population. They more than likely saved Jersey’s life that day! Young Jersey went on to heal quickly and very well. He and mom Darwina and a regular sighting in the area, thanks to their comrades!

Dolphins have an amazing social structure and seem to help each other when needed. When others are not around an adult female will use every tactic known to her to save her young from predators. This is just another example of how fascinating our area dolphins are, and how much more we can learn about their behavior. Stay tuned for more dolphin tales in the near future!