Meet our Local Dolphins: Sparky and Family

Dolphin Explorer LLC is the proprietor of the 10,000 Islands Dolphin Study Program. The team has been monitoring the travel range, social behavior, abundance, genealogy, well being and overall health of the local bottlenose dolphin population of Marco Island since 2006. The study continues….

Recently you were introduced to adult female dolphin Avery and her seven offspring that the dolphin study team has identified. Continuing with that same trend, today we will tell you about another female that calls these waters home and her family. It’s time to meet Sparky!

Dolphins can be identified by markings on the fin on their back, called a dorsal fin. Most of these nicks and notches are made by socializing with each other, when they rake their teeth across a fin and leave marks as they get to the thinner, back portion of that dorsal. It is a stress free, non-invasive way of tracking which dolphin is which, but requires a lot of work since markings change over time.

In some other cases marks on the dorsal can be caused by other factors such as fishing line cutting into the fin or strikes by boat propellers. Such is the case with Sparky. Her fin lays flat on her back with a distinctive cut line vertically through the center. She was struck by a propeller many years ago. There is no bone structure in the dorsal fin to hold it upright so, over time, the fin has folded down. Sparky has adjusted well to this injury and is doing great.

Not only is Sparky a mother of several offspring, but she is also one of five known grandmothers in the area. Let’s meet some of her family.

When the team first met this young lady in 2006, she had a calf by her side, estimated to be about two years old. The calf was named Orange. As is typical with a dolphin calf in this area, Orange learned life’s lessons from Sparky and left her side at three to four years old. Orange is now a mother and has her own calf named Swoop. We’ll talk more about them a bit later.

In 2007, mom Sparky gave birth to a new calf and it was named Pinta. There are predators in our waters and not every calf lives to see adulthood. Such was the case with Pinta.

In 2010 Sparky gave birth to another youngster named Keegan. As is typical, Keegan stayed by mom’s side for three years before going out on its own. Now eleven years old, Keegan is seen on a regular basis in our area and is doing quite well, keeping company with other dolphins about its own age. Juveniles will sometimes form bonds and Keegan was sighted frequently with Double Dip and Aubrey.

In 2015 Sparky gave birth to Nori. Nori is an Asian word that translates to Seaweed in English. Once again, predators prevailed and Nori had a very short life.

Sparky again produced a new calf in 2017 and it was named Porkchop. It seems that the first day this calf was seen, a wild pig was also spotted on a nearby island, hence the name Porkchop. This little one experienced a great amount of training from Sparky, staying by mom’s side for more than four years. Porkchop is recently out on its own and is seen on the east side of the Jolley Bridge on a regular basis. With so much training time, Porkchop appears to be doing well.

As mentioned, Sparky is a grandmother. Her daughter Orange gave birth to a calf named Swoop in the Fall of 2018. At three and a half years old, Swoop is training well from Orange and could potentially be on its own this fall.

As for Sparky, with no young of year by her side at this time, she is getting a lot of attention from the adult males in the area. It wouldn’t surprise our team if she produced a new calf later this year.

As for having another grandchild, Swoop has learned all that it needs from Orange. It is possible that Orange could produce another calf this fall as well.

Wouldn’t it be exciting to see mother and daughter, Sparky and Orange, both have a new baby in the same year? Will it happen? Stay tuned!!!

Bob is the lead naturalist on board the dolphin study vessel Dolphin Explorer. He is the author of 2 books, a two-time national award-winning columnist for Coastal Breeze News and is a regular speaker at area venues. Bob loves his wife very much!