Rare Irrawaddy dolphins discovered in the Philippines

From Wildlife Extra:

New population of rare Irrawaddy dolphins found in the Philippines

Irrawaddy dolphins found off the coast of the Island Palawan – by Jose Ma. Lorenzo Tan / WWF

April 2013. A new population of critically-endangered Irrawaddy dolphins has been found in the Philippines by Mavic Matillano of the WWF Palawan team. Spotted by chance off Palawan – along the coastline of the West Philippine Sea – this pod of rare marine mammals, locally called Lampasut, was observed displaying typical behaviour, foraging for prey around lift net fish traps sitting approximately one kilometre offshore. Previous populations of these dolphins – gifted with features that offer the barest hint of a congenial smile – have been documented in Malampaya Sound, as well as off the island of Panay. The Quezon pod represents the fourth known group of Irrawaddy dolphins reported in the Philippines.

The Irrawaddy dolphin

The Irrawaddy dolphin (Orcaella brevirostris), is able to adapt to a wide range of salinity and is found in discontinuous subpopulations near coasts and in estuaries and rivers in regions stretching from the Bay of Bengal to New Guinea and the Philippines. Lightly coloured, Irrawaddy dolphins can appear similar to beluga in appearance. They have a blunt, rounded head, and an indistinct beak. Their dorsal fin is short, blunt and triangular. In the wild, they have been seen spitting out streams of water – a rather unique and peculiar behaviour. Contrary to what some people believe, this animal is not a true river dolphin, but an oceanic dolphin that lives in brackish water near coasts, river mouths and estuaries.

Irrawaddy dolphins enjoy the highest level of international protection. Some Irrawaddy dolphin populations are classified by the IUCN as critically endangered, including the Malampaya Sound sub-population in the Philippines. Irrawaddy dolphins are listed as vulnerable by the IUCN throughout their whole range.

The Quezon population

Matillano, a seasoned veteran of WWF’s earlier conservation work on the Irrawaddy population of Palawan’s Malampaya Sound, reported seeing at least 20 individuals in just one sighting. This is a relatively large sized pod for this uncommon species, where groups of fewer than six individuals are most common.

April 2013. In a letter to New Zealand’s Prime Minister, the Society for Marine Mammalogy (SMM) urges the NZ government to immediately halt seismic testing in Maui’s dolphin habitat: here.

Related articles

• New book says 2 PH marine mammals on verge of extinction (newsinfo.inquirer.net)
• In Search of The Irrawaddy River Dolphin (livelargespendsmall.wordpress.com)
• The mythical origin of Irrawaddy dolphin (akhmadbukhori.wordpress.com)
• Scientists call for seismic testing ban to protect the world’s rarest dolphins (wildlifenews.co.uk)
• Outlaw Dolphin and Shark Hunting in Tanzania (forcechange.com)
• Mass dolphin rescue in Brazil (dearkitty1.wordpress.com)
• Maui’s Dolphins: Swimming in a sea of all sorts of mischief? (greenfishbluefish.wordpress.com)

Mass dolphin rescue in Brazil

Associated Press says about the subject of this video:

A dramatic video showing 30 beached dolphins being rescued by beachgoers in Brazil has become an internet sensation. (March 8).

From Associated Press:

The video shows dolphins appearing out of nowhere and suddenly beaching en masse on the Rio de Janeiro state coastline. They were apparently caught in a strong ocean current.

Stunned beachgoers in swimming trunks at first look on as the dolphins’ high-pitched squeals are heard. But within seconds, people quickly race into the surf to help the dolphins.

Dozens of people are seen swimming into the ocean and dragging the mammals by their tails in an effort to them back into deeper waters.

And the effort this past Monday was apparently successful. After all the dolphins were rescued, the crowd of dolphin-savers and onlookers broke into cheers.

From RYOT News:

Imagine that you’re at the beach and stoked to see a pod of dolphins swimming off shore. Then imagine they all washed up on the beach right in front of you! That’s what happened to beach goers in Brazil. The great thing is that instead of freaking out and letting the animals die, everyone came together to help the dolphins back into the water. This video will boost your faith in humanity.

From New Scientist:

What can experts learn from the footage? The species involved, for one. These are common dolphins (Delphinus delphis), which typically live a long way off shore, says Mark Simmonds of the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society, a global charity.

However the video does not reveal what caused the stranding – fishing boats or sonar are two possibilities.

Had experts rescued the dolphins, says Simmonds, they may have examined the individuals for damage, such as net marks, that may have provided clues. But he says the dolphins in the video appear to be healthy.

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Scottish sperm whales new to scientists

This video says about itself:

Former dolphin hunter leads dolphin watch and encounters friendly sperm whale.

Izumi Ishii was once head of the dolphin hunters in Futo, Japan; but one day he heard the cry of a dying dolphin and it changed him. So he began a dolphin watching business. BlueVoice.org supported his work and Hardy Jones was aboard for the first expedition.

Ishii’s vessel sailed for four hours with no luck and he was in danger of bringing back the tourists and the press with a failure. But then a huge sperm whale appeared – and it turned out to be friendly, lingering around the boat for 45 minutes. Ishii’s transformation from dolphin hunter to dolphin tour operator makes him more money than his pervious business and has taken thousands of Japanese to see whales and dolphins. It shows that dolphin watching can replace dolphin killing. For more information go to http://www.bluevoice.org. Hardy Jones is co-founder of BlueVoice.org with Ted Danson.

From Wildlife Extra:

Scottish sperm whales – Animals not known to scientists

Giants of the sea – two strangers to Scottish waters

March 2013. Sperm whales photographed off the coast of North West Scotland recently have not been recorded in northern oceans before, confirms Dr Peter Evans, a leading cetacean scientist from the national marine research charity Sea Watch.

Sperm whale ID

Two of the five sperm whales seen between Loch Torridon and South Rona were pictured diving, enabling unique markings on their tail flukes – to be compared with a North Atlantic sperm whale catalogue of previous sightings maintained by Lisa Steiner of WhaleWatch in the Azores, but with no match.

There has also been no immediate match with sperm whales recoded in a catalogue by Marta Acosta Plata from Marine Research and Education Fund of Andenes in Norway, where sperm whales regularly summer. In addition, the pictures have also been compared with records from the Caribbean where sperm whales breed, and no matches have been found.

Dr Peter Evans said: “It is very exciting to have identifiable images of two individual sperm whales. They are rarely seen off the UK, and when they are seen they are often in waters which are too shallow for them to dive. It is only when they dive that we can photograph the flukes and see the individual markings which allow us to recognise them if they are seen again.”

Scottish sighting

The five sperm whales were initially seen by creel fishermen between Loch Torridon and South Rona on Monday February 18th. They, at first, thought they were humpback whales.

Dr Peter Evans, director of marine conservation research charity Sea Watch, was able to confirm them as sperm whales from the photographs, and says: “In recent years, squid, the main prey of sperm whales, have become common around the British Isles, possibly as a result of climate change, so sightings such as these may become more commonplace.

“Now that we have a photographic record of these individuals, we hope to be able to track them should they be sighted again in northern waters.”

The species normally lives in waters of 1,000 metres or more depth, beyond the continental shelf edge. When they were spotted last month, they had sought out the deepest area of NW Scotland – the Inner Sound between the Isle of Skye and the mainland.

Sperm whales are amongst the largest mammal species in the world. Adult males can weigh in at up to 45 tonnes – the iconic London Routemaster double decker bus weighs less than 8 tons, unladen!

According to Sea Watch’s national database, there have been just 94 separate sightings in British waters since 1974, most of lone adult males, with the largest group on record being of 20 animals seen off the Isle of Mousa in the Shetland Islands, in 2007.

Photographer Captures Dramatic Battle Between Orcas and Sperm Whales: here.

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Scottish Nature Photographer of the Year winner

From Wildlife Extra:

Scottish Nature Photographer of the Year award winner

Charlie Phillips wins Scottish Nature Photographer Of The Year award with image of Moray Firth dolphin

March 2013. Whale and Dolphin Conservation (WDC) field officer and wildlife photographer, Charlie Phillips has beaten off strong competition to win the 2012 Scottish Nature Photographer of the Year award, which showcase Scotland‘s nature in all its diverse and fascinating forms.

Charlie, who spends most of his time documenting and photographing the resident Moray Firth bottlenose dolphins as part of WDC’s dolphin adoption programme, was selected for the award by the judging panel from over 2,300 entries from around the world.

His image, Up for Air, shows the split second when a young bottlenose dolphin breaks the surface tension of the water and was taken during a research boat survey trip.

Describing it, Charlie said: “It was a beautiful day, with oily calm, blue seas and no wind – very unusual for up here. We encountered group after group of the resident dolphins during our survey, this one young dolphin surfacing beside us at just the right distance and speed. The conditions were the best that I can remember and I took a total of 2,600 frames that day!”

Judge Neil McIntyre said: “Each year it gets harder and harder to pick not just the winning images but also the shortlisted ones, such is the high quality of the entries. With that being the case it needs to be something special to stand out and that is certainly the case with Charlie’s dolphin image.”

100,000 dolphins off California, video

Wildlife Extra writes about this video:

As many as 100,000 dolphins in one vast pod spotted off San Diego

March 2013. Joe Dutra, captain of a whale watching boat in San Diego, reported in February that he had seen a vast ‘super-mega pod’ of dolphins covering an area 7.5 miles long and almost 6 miles wide and containing an estimated 100,000 dolphins. The entire group of dolphins appeared to be common dolphins.

Several thousand birds, seagulls, pelicans and others, were also in the area and there was a huge amount of bait activity which assisted in this feeding frenzy!

Captain Dutra said: “In my past years in the fishing industry, years ago, I used to see massive schools of dolphins off the coast of Central and South America, but nothing like this. This was a once in a life time experience. Truly Amazing!”

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• Video: Mega-pod of dolphins off SD coast (utsandiego.com)
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• VIDEO: 100,000 Dolphins Swimming Together Off The Coast Of San Diego (1037litefm.cbslocal.com)
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Australian baby dolphin endangers, saves pod

This is a video from Australia on moving a baby dolphin away from the shore in order to prevent its pod from beaching.

From Wildlife Extra about this:

Dolphin pod saved using baby dolphin as a lure

Large pod of dolphins off Albany

February 2013. Western Australia Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC) staff have successfully herded a large pod of dolphins out to sea avoiding a potential mass stranding at Two Peoples Bay Nature Reserve on Western Australia’s south coast.

Pantropical spotted dolphins

Between 100-150 pantropical spotted dolphins Stenella attenuata were discovered milling around in shallow water at Whalers Cove, south-east of Albany yesterday morning at 9.00am. One dolphin had already died. DEC officers monitored the dolphins until high tide yesterday when conditions were suitable for the pod to be herded out to deeper water.

Lured into deep water by baby dolphin

Regional leader nature conservation Deon Utber said DEC officers translocated a juvenile dolphin by boat to deeper waters as part of the operation.

“The juvenile was sending out distress signals, which was calling the dolphins in, as soon as it was translocated to deeper waters the pod followed it out and last we saw they were swimming out to sea,” he said.

There was no sign of the pod the following morning. A DEC spotter plane conducted aerial surveillance off the coastline but the pod could not be found.

Good Scilly islands dolphin, shark news

From Wildlife Extra:

Record year for cetacean sightings off Scilly Isles ferry

Best year yet for marine wildlife sightings off the Scillonian!

November 2012. During the 2012 summer season, Cornwall Wildlife Trust and The Isles of Scilly Wildlife Trust have had a marine wildlife guide, Paul Semmens, onboard the Scillonian III. Paul is onboard at least once a week between April and the end of October 2012. He surveys the route from Penzance to the Isles of Scilly, looking for the wonderful sharks, dolphins and whales that visit our Cornish waters, as well as showing the passengers these brilliant creatures.

As part of the Cornwall Wildlife Trust’s marine conservation programme, Living Seas, Paul has been recording wildlife spotted as part of an on-going survey of what occurs in Cornish and Scillonian waters.

During the 2012 season there was so much to see! 1554 animals were recorded, a record year so far. These records consisted of;

379 harbour porpoise
1064 common dolphin
19 bottlenose dolphin
23 Risso’s dolphin
19 Minke whale
2 unidentified cetacean species
3 leatherback turtle
24 basking shark
21 ocean sunfish

Paul says “During the 4 years that I have worked onboard, 2012 has been my best year yet. This was particularly special in a summer with very unsettled weather. There was a huge increase in harbour porpoises, a species that is not easy to spot in all but the calmest conditions. There has been a definite inshore movement of this species, as well common dolphins, probably in response to shoals of small bait fish. It was great to see leatherback turtles this year – they are huge beasts that can grow to seven foot long. It has been a record year in Cornish waters for this species with many sightings all around the coast. As we approached autumn we had regular sightings of Minke whales and Risso’s dolphins especially as we drew near the Isles of Scilly. I would like to thank the crew and Isles of Scilly Travel staff for their continuing support of this project as we continue to build up a substantial database on the distribution of marine megafauna. The Scillonian is a great platform from which to look for these exciting animals and it is unusual not to see dolphins or porpoises on a crossing.’

Jackie Hayman, of the Isles of Scilly Steamship Company says, “The wildlife watching tips with Paul are always extremely popular so we are thrilled to be launching a series of sailings throughout 2013. It’s a great way to make the most of your time at sea during your journey to the Isles of Scilly and Paul always makes the trips informative. He is extremely knowledgeable and has a keen eye so you’re sure to spot some great wildlife on the trip. Make sure you book early so you don’t miss out.”

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Aquaria against capturing wild whales and dolphins

From Wildlife Extra:

USA aquaria speak out against capturing wild whales and dolphins

The US Georgia Aquarium is seeking to import 18 wild-caught belugas from the Sea of Okhotsk in Russia. Photo credit WDCS

WDC applauds Aquaria’s statement opposing capture of whales and dolphins from the wild

November 2012. In response to the US Georgia Aquarium plan to import 18 wild-caught belugas from the Sea of Okhotsk in Russia, WDC, Whale and Dolphin Conservation, has commended the recent announcements by National Aquarium, Washington, D.C. and Baltimore, Maryland, and Sea Life, with centres worldwide, stating their strong opposition to collection of whales and dolphins from the wild for any purpose. Both statements (attached) were sent to the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) in response to the proposed import into the US of 18 belugas that were captured from the wild in the Sea of Okhotsk in eastern Russia and represent a strong indictment against the continuing capture of whales and dolphins from the wild to supply public display facilities in the US and worldwide.

“National Aquarium’s strong statement against any further capture and importation of dolphins from the wild is a huge and courageous step forward towards both a symbolic and real commitment to progressive change for the public industry,” stated Courtney Vail, WDC campaigns and programs manager. “True conservation calls for protection of these animals and the preservation of their populations in the wild, not captures for captivity. In making this bold statement, National Aquarium has just stepped out as a leader by acknowledging what science and ethics has been telling us all along, and I hope that other enlightened aquariums will follow suit.”

These statements come just as the public comment period for Georgia Aquarium’s beluga permit request to NMFS has ended. Because of the controversy surrounding this import request, NMFS held both a public meeting on October 12th where all interested parties could share their concerns and extended its public comment period until October 29th. WDC presented testimony opposing the permit as well as a statement from the NGO community against the imports, signed by 65 international conservation and animal welfare organizations.

Importing animals captured directly from the wild represents a significant departure from how US facilities have been acquiring whales and dolphins for public display over the past several decades, and is contrary to innovative and progressive trends within the aquarium community. Dolphin populations in US public display facilities have, in recent years, been maintained through captive breeding, imports, and the retention of stranded animals considered unsuitable for release back into the wild.

“Just as Ocean Park Hong Kong‘s decision last year to listen to public outcry and not to import belugas captured from the wild in Russia, National Aquarium and Sea Life have taken a leadership role in acknowledging the public’s desire to see an end to captures from the wild,” stated Chris Butler-Stroud, WDC’s chief executive. “We are encouraged that instead of continuing to fuel the international trade in whales and dolphins, these organizations are putting their foot down and signaling their willingness to break this vicious cycle of supply and demand. I am hopeful that other aquaria will step forward and leave these outdated practices behind them.”

No captures in US waters since 1993

There have been no captures of wild dolphins in US waters since 1993, primarily because of public opposition and pressure. However, NMFS called for a voluntary moratorium in 1989 for the capture of bottlenose dolphins in the Gulf of Mexico and along the US Atlantic coast, due to a lack of information about dolphin populations. Over 2,300 bottlenose dolphins were captured for public display purposes between 1972 and 1993 in US waters, primarily from the Gulf of Mexico. The last attempt to import wild-captured cetaceans deliberately for US facilities also occurred in 1993 when the Indianapolis Zoo and Marine World Africa USA attempted to import false killer whales (pseudorcas) from Japan and failed when it became apparent that the animals had been captured in the infamous and cruel dolphin drive hunts.

WDC continues to call for an end to wild captures and imports for public display.

US wildlife officials are investigating a spate of killings and mutilations of dolphins along the Gulf Coast over the past year: here.

December 2012. Every year, between September and March, local fishermen drive pods of dolphins and whales into a small cove in south-east Japan. Many are killed for food, many are taken into captivity to be trained to perform in shows, and just a very few are released, usually those too old or young to be included in the above: here.

On 23 occasions over the past several years, wild dolphins were observed giving gifts to humans at the Tangalooma Island Resort in Australia. The gifts included eels, tuna, squid, an octopus and an assortment of many other types of different fin fish. While these gifts might not be your choice for a gift to find underneath your Christmas tree, some of the items that were offered to humans are highly valued food sources for cetaceans such as dolphins. A report describing this rare form of food sharing behavior in wild dolphins was published on December 4, 2012 in the journal Anthrozoös: A Multidisciplinary Journal of the Interactions of People & Animals: here.

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Caribbean marine mammal reserve

This video says about itself:

These pictures and video were taken during the 2012 Marine Mammal Monitoring conducted by the Nature Foundation from February to June 2012.

All images were taken in St. Maarten/ St. Martin including in the Man of War Shoal Marine Park.

A total of 41 humpback whales, 21 bottlenose dolphins, 15 long-nosed spinner dolphins, numerous sperm whales and one seal were recorded.

The sound track of this movie clip was provided by a male humpback whale, also recorded in St. Maarten seas.

From the Dutch Caribbean Nature Alliance (DCNA), Saturday 27 October 2012:

The Caribbean waters are home to 36 species of marine mammals, but surprisingly little is known about the lives of these intelligent and social creatures. Highly dependent on large, intact and healthy underwater ecosystems, marine mammals are sensitive to human-based pressures such as overfishing, land-based pollution and even cruise tourism (cruise ship collisions with whales is not uncommon). One species of marine mammal, the Caribbean monk seal, suffered from overfishing of their food source (reef fish and invertebrates such as lobsters and octopuses) and habitat loss through coastal development. Those threats combined with large-scale hunting of the seals pushed the species to a population collapse and extinction in the 1950s.

To prevent other marine mammals from going extinct, conservation efforts are crucial. The establishment of marine protected areas of the Dutch Caribbean, most recently on Saba Bank and in St. Maarten are significant steps in safeguarding habitat and ecosystems for our marine mammals. Several nations, including the USA, the Dominican Republic and France, have established marine mammal sanctuaries in Caribbean waters. The Netherlands will now follow suit with the establishment of a marine mammal sanctuary in the Dutch Caribbean by December 2012.

The recently established ‘Man of War Shoal’ marine protected area in St. Maarten is an important hotspot for marine mammals. A survey conducted by the St. Maarten Nature Foundation counted 41 humpback whales, numerous sperm whales, 21 bottlenose dolphins and 15 spinner dolphins in the period February – June 2012.

Dutch government financial cuts in Dutch Caribbean nature: here.

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White whale’s human speech

This video is called Beluga Whales (Delphinapterus leucas).

From Current Biology:

Spontaneous human speech mimicry by a cetacean …

Summary

Although dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) have been trained to match numbers and durations of human vocal bursts [1] and reported to spontaneously match computer-generated whistles [2], spontaneous human voice mimicry has not previously been demonstrated. The first to study white whale (Delphinapterus leucas) sounds in the wild, Schevill and Lawrence [3] wrote that “occasionally the calls would suggest a crowd of children shouting in the distance”. Fish and Mowbary [4] described sound types and reviewed past descriptions of sounds from this vociferous species.

At Vancouver Aquarium, Canada, keepers suggested that a white whale about 15 years of age, uttered his name “Lagosi”. Other utterances were not perceptible, being described as “garbled human voice, or Russian, or similar to Chinese” by R.L. Eaton in a self-published account in 1979.

However, hitherto no acoustic recordings have shown how such sounds emulate speech and deviate from the usual calls of the species. We report here sound recordings and analysis which demonstrate spontaneous mimicry of the human voice, presumably a result of vocal learning [5], by a white whale.