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The City of Whyalla has now consulted several agencies on the welfare of the injured dolphin in the marina and the diagnosis is positive.
The Whyalla Wildlife Rescue group visited the marina on Tuesday and today (Wednesday, December 13) to check on the female dolphin and her calf. The dolphin mum has a large gash behind her head but it is uncertain whether it was caused a boat propeller or natural causes such as a shark attack.
Officers from Natural Recourses Eyre Peninsula have also checked out the dolphin and consulted with marine mammal experts at the South Australian Museum.
The general consensus is that while the wound looks significant, it isn’t necessarily life-threatening. As the dolphin has been seen for the past two days feeding her calf normally and swimming without any obvious discomfort, there is a good chance she will make a full recovery.
A spokesperson from the rescue group said dolphins had been observed in Whyalla with far worse injuries and made a full recovery.
“We watched her this morning (Wednesday) and she was feeding her calf and moving around without any problems,” the spokesperson said.
“While the wound looks fresh, it is in a pretty deep fatty area and it should heal okay.”
The photos taken by Whyalla boat owners Mariette and Jason were shown to Catherine Kemper who is the Senior Researcher in Mammality at the South Australia Museum.
Catherine and her colleagues were also split on what had caused the wound but agreed it didn’t appear to be a fatal wound.
“I suspect it isn’t a propeller wound, I think something has had a munch on it, but I have a colleague who doesn’t think it is a shark attack wound either,” Catherine said.
“It doesn’t, however, appear to have gone past the muscle and it appears forward enough that it wouldn’t be affecting the lungs or any other major organs.
“Dolphins have an amazing recuperative capability so I’d assess this dolphin, just going on the pictures, as having a good chance of recovery.”
Catherine did issue a warning on the hazards of feeding wild dolphins. Quoting a report done on the famous Monkey Mia dolphins at Shark Bay, Catherine said the habit of feeding dolphins was particularly dangerous for calves.
“Studies have found that the dolphins at Monkey Mia are largely female and they leave their calves 100 to 150m away when they come in,” Catherine said.
“This leaves them at danger of attacks from sharks.
“Dolphins are smart and will recognise the boats that they’ll get a feed from but this isn’t good for them.”
Council would like to remind people that feeding and touching dolphins is illegal under the marine act with heavy penalties for offenders. There is also a speed limit of 4 knots in the marina that must be obeyed for the safety of dolphins and people using the facility.
FIVE FACTS ABOUT DOLPHINS
They live as desert animals
Ocean water is too salty for dolphins to drink, so they obtain their water needs from their food. So although they live in a watery environment, dolphins live as desert animals with no direct source of drinking water.
Dolphins close down half of their brains to sleep
A dolphin cannot sleep like we do as it must remain awake to surface and breathe. Scientists have conducted studies and have found that dolphins close down one half of their brain at a time and ‘sleep’ in this way for up to eight hours a day.
They have little or no sense of smell
Dolphins have little or no sense of smell because the blowhole (a dolphin’s nose) is closed underwater. They do, however, have a very sensitive tongue to compensate.
They click for their dinner
Clicking is for more than communication. These sounds travel up to 200m through the water, hit an object and bounce back, providing the dolphin with information regarding the size, shape, speed and direction of travel and distance to that object (preferably, for the dolphin, a school of delicious fish).
They would beat you in a breath-holding competition
Like all whales, bottlenose dolphins have lungs and breathe air. A dolphin must surface to breathe through the blowhole on the top of their head, usually diving for periods of one to four minutes. It takes a dolphin about one-fifth of a second to complete a full breath, and they can then hold their breath for up to 20minutes.
Source: Wild About Wales