SHARK!

It was a typical mid-April day and both passengers and crew on board the Dolphin Explorer were enjoying sightings of the local dolphins. As the vessel rounded the point on the northwest corner of Isle of Capri, two of our resident males were observed fishing near a seawall. These boys were busy as there was a school of fish nearby.

The dolphins, named Hatchet and Capri, are two of the largest, more dominant males in these waters. Known as a “Male Pair Bond,” one is rarely seen without the other nearby. This relationship has lasted for nearly two decades and will likely continue much longer.

On this April day, both males caught big fish simultaneously, with crew and guests observing their behavior. Capri was tossing his catch, letting it swim away just a bit before grasping it in his 80-toothed rostrum again. He did this several times and then something happened.

Capri tossed it again and from beneath him, surprisingly, a shark rose to the surface to steal the fish. Capri and Hatchet are both too big to be of interest to the shark - it was after the fish. As crew and guests watched, a battle began. Capri was not going to give up his hard-fought catch and he engaged the shark. Hatchet, Capri’s best buddy and companion, was not about to let the fight proceed without getting involved himself.

There was quite a bit of thrashing in the water, so much so that several other dolphins approached the activity to take a look. Within the blink of an eye, the shark was seen swimming away. Hatchet and Capri escorted this predator from the area while the other dolphins huddled behind the two big boys to watch the goings on.

Since the shark never breached the surface, it is not exactly clear what species was bold enough to attempt a theft from two of the largest bottlenose dolphins in the area. It was, however, very clear that this bonding of Hatchet and Capri worked in their favor to remove the shark from the area.

Even though the Marco waters are relatively shallow, predators such as bull sharks and hammerheads do travel among our dolphins, plus a few other species. Young dolphins, from birth to age four, must be wary of these predators until they are big enough and fast enough that the sharks no longer bother them.

Since this shark was after Capri’s meal and not Capri, both of the big males escaped unscathed. There are other stories of shark bite survival of our dolphin population, at least seven, maybe more, bear scars of shark attacks.

On June 14, 2022, our crew left the dock and almost immediately noticed a bull shark on the water’s surface, listing from side to side. It appeared to be ill or injured. Looking down the marina basin, there were several dolphins circling two other dolphins. As we drew near, we noticed eight-month-old Jersey had a wound on its back, directly in front of its blowhole. Mom Darwina was there by Jersey’s side. The other dolphins, including several young males, continued to circle the mom and calf.

It dawned on the crew that the bull shark seen by the dock was injured by the dolphins protecting Jersey! Dolphins can ram a shark in the gills, disallowing water to flow across those gills to make oxygen for the shark. They likely saved Jersey’s life that day! Currently, Jersey is two and a half years old, and mom Darwina appears to be about six months pregnant.

One of our favorite area dolphins, Skipper, was bitten by a shark at eight months old. She not only survived that injury, she survived a fishing line entanglement at one year old. She is now a mother of two and a half year old named Fergie and she, too, is about six months pregnant!

The stories continue, so much so that a book could be written about our area dolphins. There’s not quite enough space to do that here today, but the survivors of these attacks surely have some tales to tell! Stay tuned for further adventures about our local dolphins, thanks to the data collected by The 10,000 Islands Dolphin Study Team!