Crawsnest (Tay Dolphins)

Hi everyone….  We have received our first sightings reports of the year..  Thanks to Caroline for the first sighting of the year…  NOTE: 4th May 2008.  And also to Evelyn (just pipped at the post) for her sighting of 3 adult dolphins on the 6th May 2008.

It appears that the dolphins have returned a little earlier this year (first sighting last year was at the end of May).  As usual, we would ask you to send in any sightings you make via our sightings form…  Looking forward to a busy season…

Best wishes to all…. (Crawsnest team)

The Marine Connection launches a new report which examines the phenomenon of the solitary cetacean – the ‘Lone Rangers’ of the sea, in detail.

It examines some of the theories behind their existence, considers the process of habituation and the threats to both the cetacean and humans. By reviewing all known cases to date and the current protective legislation the report makes recommendations for their protection in both the short and long term.

Solitary cetaceans may be considered the lone rangers of the sea, apparently choosing a solitary existence they may roam from town to town, or conversely they may take up residence in one specific location.

We do not as yet fully understand their solitary lifestyle, whether it is by choice or through a variety of environmental or man-made pressures. Yet we do know that whether temporary or permanent there have been over 90 cases to date, worldwide.

Source:  Marine Connection

Download Lone Rangers report

Two men who swam in the sea with a dolphin after a night out have been found guilty of harassing the animal.

Michael Jukes, 27, and Daniel Buck, 26, were found guilty of intentionally or recklessly disturbing a wild animal at Sandgate, Kent in June last year.

Dover magistrates heard they had touched and stroked Dave the dolphin, which had become a tourist attraction spotted regularly near Folkestone.

They were each ordered to carry out 120 hours community service.

A lack of recent sightings has led to speculation that Dave, who was actually female, has now died.

The court heard that during the incident on 9 June a witness heard one of the men shout: “People pay hundreds of pounds to do this in Florida and I’m doing it in Folkestone.”

Full story:  BBC

New evidence has been compiled by marine scientists that prove the normally placid dolphin is capable of brutal attacks both on innocent fellow marine mammals and, more disturbingly, on its own kind.

Film taken of gangs of dolphins repeatedly ramming baby porpoises, tossing them in the air and pursuing them to the death has solved a long-term mystery of what causes the death of so many of these harmless mammals - but has left animal experts baffled as to the motive.

Another mystery is that the animal ‘murders’ have only been reported in two parts of the world - along Scotland’s East Coast and in America off the beaches of Virginia, where even more alarmingly, the victims were scores of the dolphins’ own young.

Full story:  Telegraph

Stronger legislation to protect “friendly” bottlenose dolphins from being “loved to death” is being urged by a leading conservation organisation.

The problem with existing measures aimed at preventing harm to or disturbance of these charismatic marine mammals is that they weren’t designed to deal with problems arising from exceptional individuals going out of their way to court human attention.
 
So the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society is highlighting how such creatures invariably end up with fatal injuries as a first step in a campaign for a new law to discourage people from responding to their overtures.

Bottlenose dolphins, averaging around three metres long and weighing about 200kgs, have long been at the centre of myths about relations with humans. Blowing away such mystical nonsense is part of the WDCS effort to protect them from becoming victims of their popularity.

Solitary-sociable” is how WDCS labels those that, for no obvious reason, are not part of a dolphin group and hang around harbours, increasingly associating with boat users, divers and bathers.

Social misfit would also be an appropriate description for an animal apparently preferring the company of a different species. It is not trying to deliver a message to mankind, one of the wackier theories for such behaviour - but performing in what invariably becomes a tragedy.

“There is a definite need for existing legislation to be improved to protect solitary-sociable dolphins”, said Mark Simmonds, WDCS’s Director of Science. “Law to prevent harm and deliberate or reckless disturbance to dolphins doesn’t adequately cater for situations in which one chooses to interact with people.”

WDCS has already tried to tackle this by simply giving a “back off” message to the public.

Full story:  Telegraph.co.uk

In the next few days the UK Government will make a crucial decision. They will decide whether to allow drilling for oil and gas in the sanctuary created for the bottlenose dolphins of the Moray Firth, Scotland. Please send an e-mail to the Minister of State for Energy, Malcolm Wicks, urging him to ensure protection for the Moray Firth.

To read the full story and send an email, go to the WDCS

I’m afraid I have to report that the dolphins were on the wrong end of some behaviour which amounted to harrassment on Sunday afternoon…

While most boats were abiding by the dolphin-watching guidelines, there was one boat which consistently approached the dolphins with its engine running.  It was also observed to continually change direction heading back towards the dolphins every time they moved away.  The boat in question showed no regard for the fact that the dolphins were feeding in the area.  It was obvious that the 2 people on board were more interested in their own pleasure rather than the welfare of the animals.  Evidence of their engine running can be seen in the picture above, ie wake at the rear of the boat.

As you can also see from the pic above, the river was busy with all sorts of watercraft on Sunday, but the vast majority showed respect for the dolphins.  The MVS craft, Marigot and Badger were observing the guidelines, spending no more than 15 minutes with the dolphins.  Both boats were seen to cut their engines when in the dolphins vicinity and also to keep at a respectful distance.

There were also a number of jet-skis in the river, but they gave the dolphins a wide berth and did not cause any problems.  There were also a couple of high-powered speedboats which approached the dolphins at high speed, but they did cut their engines as they closed in.  The sail boats on the river were obviously more interested in their sailing than the dolphins as they were not seen to even approach the animals.

However, the behaviour shown by the occupants of the motor cruiser in question was unacceptable and pictorial evidence will be forwarded to the relevant authorities.  If anyone has any details on the boat or its occupants, please contact us…

A picture of the motor cruiser which was harrassing the dolphins in the River Tay.

This behaviour was witnessed by 3 researchers with the Crawsnest Wildlife Group.

Just to let you know about a sighting made in the outer Moray Firth this week….  Researchers with the CRRU (Cetacean Research & Rescue Unit) and the environmental charity Earthwatch were surrounded by a group of around 300 common dolphins.

These dolphins are not native to our waters, but with the rising sea temperatures they may become a more common sight.

Anyway, keep your eyes open… 

Well… It’s been rather a busy week one way and another…

First we had dolphins present for the majority of last week although they again failed to appear this past weekend.  We had various reports from Ken, Caroline and others about the early morning appearances of 5 dolphins around the Craig buoy area.  Ken kindly passed on the pic (above).

On Sunday we had the Sea Shore festival and the dolphins were represented, one way or another, in most of the exhibits on view…  The Wildlife Rangers tent had a great exhibit (see pic below) and Ann had another board, similar to the one we erected in the castle, on show at the BFEP stall.  The Shanwell Wildlife Trust were also present along with the RNLI and the Coastguard.

We spoke to a number of visitors to the castle about the dolphins and generated some interest in the project.  Many went away with reporting sheets and hopefully we will receive sightings info from them in the days to come…

On the wildlife side, we were once again visited by a grey heron….

The message seems to be getting through…  The best place to see the dolphins, is from the shore… and in particular, from Broughty Castle…  See you there…

The first two weeks of the monitoring program have been uneventful, in that we have not had a single sighting of the dolphins.  Reports from elsewhere inform us that the dolphins are nearby, but to date we haven’t seen any within the confines of the River Tay.

We are aware of a group of five dolphins that are frequenting the coastline to the north.  This particular group has some distinctive characteristics that will make identification quite easy.  One of the dolphins has severe scarring to one side of its dorsal fin and another is suffering from a spinal deformity.

This quiet beginning has allowed us to extend our contact with other agencies and I’m pleased to inform you that the MVS (Maritime Volunteer Service) have agreed to keep a log of any sightings they make of the dolphins.  They have also kindly agreed to pass on any photographs they take for identification purposes.

As time passes, we hope to extend the sightings network to cover the whole of the Tay Estuary.

From small beginnings….