Scientists seven years later met in the Black sea familiar dolphin

Scientists off the coast of Gelendzhik again met the Black Sea bottlenose bottlenose, which was first photographed in 2019. This is reported by Science Mail with reference to the press service of the Institute of Oceanology named after P.P. Shirshov RAS.

The dolphin with light spots on the head and fins was first filmed in June 2019 near Arkhipo-Osipovka. In September 2026, he was photographed at Divnomorsky - more than 40 km from the place of the first meeting.

The animal was discovered during the expedition of the Institute and the Nature and People Foundation. Its participants surveyed the coastal water area from the Blue Bay to Cape Idokopas. During nine outings in the sea, the researchers covered more than 500 km and recorded 23 encounters with cetaceans, mainly Black Sea bottlenose dolphins.

Individual animals were recognized by the method of photo identification: they compared the shape of the dorsal fin, scars, scratches and spots on the skin. During the expedition, they took about 3.7 thousand photos and identified dozens of dolphins. Pictures will replenish the long-term bottlenose photo catalog.

The rendezvous allows the animal to be traced, but by itself does not prove the existence of stable local communities in this part of the Black Sea. Observations in different seasons and comparison of data from different years will help to find out how dolphins are tied to certain areas of the coast, to clarify their numbers, composition and estimated habitat boundaries.

Observations of individual bottlenose dolphins help to investigate their behavior. So, marine biologists from the University of Southern Denmark studied a lonely dolphin named Delle, who settled in the Svendborgsund Strait near the Danish island of Funen. To distinguish it from other individuals allowed characteristic notches on the dorsal fin.

From December 2022 to February 2023, the researchers recorded more than 10,800 sound signals from Delle. Among them were clicks, whistles and signals that are commonly associated with aggressive behavior. Of particular interest are the sounds dolphins use to communicate with each other: Delle published them, although there were no other dolphins around.

The bottlenose bottlenose continued to make sounds in the absence of people. Scientists have suggested that the dolphin could "talk to itself.".