Daphne has a new baby!

We headed out to sea a few days ago. Finally some good weather for fieldwork. After less than 10 minutes on navigation, something jumped out of the water and made a splash, far away on the horizon. We directed the boat there. It may just be tuna fish. That would be a nice sighting, too. Nevertheless, we were silently hoping it would be dolphins. Another dark figure on the horizon. It is amazing how your heart starts beating faster with tense anticipation, while all you see around is calm water and the boat glides peacefully accross it. In the next moment, all doubts were gone: dolphins! We gradually reduced speed and slowly approached the group from the side. Deinon! Amanita! Old friends everywhere. Soon we spotted a tiny creature, swimming beside its mother. Definitely a newborn, perhaps only a week or two old. At first we did not see who the mother was. And then the revelation: Daphne! New calves are always good news. But with Daphne (one of our most frequently encountered dolphins) being the mother, the news are even better. Emanuela is also here with her 1 year old calf that we met last year as a newborn. The fact that the calf survived its first year is very encouraging. We hope Daphne can achieve the same with her calf. Many newborns do not survive through their first year of life. But if her best friend succeeded, we believe Daphne can do it as well.

Photo: Tilen Genov, Morigenos