The Southern Right Season for 2018 is well underway as we enjoyed the company of 12 different individuals who were all relaxing, socialising and playing in the sheltered waters of Flinders Bay today. Four mother and calf pods including Stacka were frolicking in the shallows while they practiced pec slapping and manoeuvring in the shallow environment. Feeding on approximately 360 litres of milk that has a 48% fat content will result in some pretty impressive results. The latest research has shown that these calves are putting on 50 kilograms of weight per day and 3cm in size! The warmer waters found in Flinders Bay (in comparison to Antarctica) enables a perfect environment for a calf to grow quickly as all of the energy from mums milk is used for growing rather than also trying to keep warm.
The Bottlenose Dolphins arrived in style this morning as the big males who we frequently sight in the bay raced towards us. They were full of energy and seemed very curious to what was happening, riding alongside our bow and showing off their numerous scars that are typically found on older, male dolphins. They also visited us again this afternoon and were busy chasing fish along the nursery ground before saying a quick hello to one of the mother/calf pods. Two adults also approached closely today and investigated us carefully allowing for a fantastic view of the unique callosity patterns located on their upper and lower jaw.
