DELFINI V MEGLI I DOLPHINS IN THE MIST

Naše sposobnosti iskanja delfinov so dosegle novi nivo! Danes smo uspeli izslediti skupino delfinov v skorajda ničelni vidljivosti, zgolj z uporabo zvoka. Na morje smo se odpravili ob zori, v izredno gosti megli, z vidljivostjo manj kot 50 m. To sicer niso pogoji, v katerih bi navadno izvajali terensko delo, toda zaradi nedavnih opažanj smo se vseeno odločili, da se odpravimo na morje. Kmalu po izplutju iz pristana smo ustavili naše plovilo in v vodo potopili hidrofon. In res, skoraj nemudoma smo zaznali žvižge delfinov. S kombinacijo intuicije in zaporednih detekcij oglašanja delfinov smo postopoma uspeli delfine izslediti do te mere, da smo sčasoma lahko slišali njihove izdihe na površini. Kmalu zatem smo jih pred Izolo tudi neposredno opazili. Kljub megli smo uspeli pridobiti identifikacijske fotografije, ki so ključne za razumevanje velikosti populacije, trendov, socialne strukture in stopnje razmnoževanja te populacije. Delfini so bili videti dobre volje, več mladostnikov pa se je tudi radovedno približalo našemu raziskovalnemu plovilu. Tukaj je nekaj posnetkov današnjih delfinov v megli.

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Our dolphin searching skills have reached a new level! Today we managed to locate a group of dolphins in almost zero visibility, using only sound. We headed out to sea at dawn in very dense fog, with visibility of less than 50 m. These aren’t conditions in which we would typically conduct fieldwork, but due to recent sightings we decided to go out regardless. Soon after we left the harbour, we stopped the boat and put our hydrophone in the water. Sure enough, we detected dolphin whistles almost immediately. Using both intuition and successive detections of dolphin vocalisations as a guide, we managed to get closer to the dolphins bit by bit, until we could hear their breaths at the surface and finally made visual contact just off the town of Izola, Slovenia. Despite the fog, we managed to obtain identification photographs which are key to understanding population size, trends, social structure and reproductive rates of this population. Dolphins appeared in good mood, with several youngsters approaching our research boat to inspect it and play in the bow wave. Here are some of the shots of dolphins in the mist.

 

Prvo opažanje v letu 2021 I First sighting in 2021

 

Včeraj smo imeli pri Piranu prvo opažanje delfinov v letu 2021, zahvaljujoč klicu, ki smo ga prejeli zgodaj zjutraj. Naša ekipa se je nemudoma odzvala in delfine kmalu locirala. Šlo je za skupino približno tridesetih delfinov, ki so se v okolici Pirana zadrževali in prehranjevali več kot dve uri. Te delfine v društvu Morigenos že zelo dobro poznamo, nekatere med njimi kar 18 let. V skupini so bili tako samci kot tudi samice z mladiči. Tovrstnih klicev smo v društvu vedno veseli, zato pozivamo vse, ki opazite delfine, da nam to čim prej sporočite na telefonsko številko 031 77 10 77. S tem nam pomagate zbirati pomembne informacije o gibanju teh živali in stanju populacije pri nas. V teh časih, ko je delo oteženo, nas takšni trenutki ženejo naprej in nam dajejo dodatno motivacijo za delo.

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Yesterday we had our first dolphin sighting of 2021, thanks to a call we received early in the morning. Our team immediately headed out to sea and soon located a group of about 30 dolphins, which spent almost two hours around Piran, predominantly feeding. At Morigenos we know these dolphins very well, some of them for 18 years. The group included males and females with calves. We are always glad to receive such calls, so we invite everyone to report their dolphin sightings in the Gulf of Trieste to us on +38631771077. This helps us collect important information about the movements of these animals and the status of the population in these waters. During these times, when work is very challenging, such moments inspire and motivate us for further work.