Marina dolphin recovery

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Published 7th December 2018

It appears one of our marina dolphins has recovered from a nasty wound

injureddolphin

RECOVERY: The injured dolphin, left, in December last year and, right, on Wednesday evening this week (December 5) with a noticeable scar behind her head.

It appears one of our marina dolphins has recovered from what could have been a shark bite last year.

On December 12 several boaties and residents noticed the injured female dolphin, who was still feeding a calf, and reported it to Council that evening. Council then contacted several agencies that night including Natural Resources Eyre Peninsula and the Whyalla Wildlife Rescue Group.

The consensus at the time, and over the next few days, was that the dolphin had a good chance of survival and full recovery judging by the position of the wound. Members of the wildlife rescue group consequently kept an eye on the dolphin mum over the next week and reported it was still feeding its calf normally and swimming without any obvious discomfort.

Catherine Kemper, who is the Senior Researcher in Mammality at the South Australia Museum, was also consulted and said that the diagnosis seemed positive.

“It doesn’t 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,” Catherine said at the time.

“Dolphins have an amazing recuperative capability so I’d assess this dolphin, just going on the pictures, as having a good chance of recovery.”

The dolphin was observed at the marina this week with her calf, that seems to be growing well, and there appears to be no ill effects from her injury apart from a big scar.

Council is formulating a dolphin management plan and 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.

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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