6 Awesome Facts About Spotted Dolphins in the Bahamas
Denise Herzing, Ph.D., founder and director of the Wild Dolphin Project, has been studying Atlantic spotted dolphins (Stenella frontalis) in the Bahamas since 1985. Since that time, she’s learned a lot about their social behavior, communication, feeding behavior, ecology, and social structure. Dolphins are mammals, which means they breathe air
How Long Can Dolphins Hold Their Breath?
Imagine always holding your breath — while running, talking, eating and sleeping. How long can you hold your breath? 30 seconds, 1 minute or 2? Well, some whales can hold their breath over an hour, necessary for a life in the sea. Dolphins and whales, together known as cetaceans, are
Save the Dolphins: Looking Ahead to 2023
It’s almost the end of another year. Goodbye 2022. But, as we look to the new year, we want to be inspired about the ways we can help save wild dolphins and other marine mammals. We know the whales, dolphins, manatees, and polar bears are in trouble. Manatees are dying
Climate Change and the Bahamas
“It’s difficult to imagine how these shallow water environments will continue to sustain many top predators in the future — not with many more storms at that intensity,” said Diane Claridge, Ph.D., executive director of Bahamas Marine Mammal Organization (BMMO). With sprawling seagrass meadows, meandering mangroves that hug the shoreline, and
Hunting
The Wild Dolphin Project was started by Dr. Denise Herzing back in 1985. Since then Dr. Herzing, along with her colleagues and graduate students, put out multiple peer reviewed research papers on the behavior, acoustics, and ecology of the two species we study in the Bahamas. Over the years she
Synchrony
The Wild Dolphin Project was started by Dr. Denise Herzing back in 1985. Since then Dr. Herzing, along with her colleagues and graduate students, put out multiple peer reviewed research papers on the behavior, acoustics, and ecology of the two species we study in the Bahamas. Over the years she
Bubbles
The Wild Dolphin Project was started by Dr. Denise Herzing back in 1985. Since then Dr. Herzing, along with her colleagues and graduate students, put out multiple peer reviewed research papers on the behavior, acoustics, and ecology of the two species we study in the Bahamas. Over the years she
Meet the Team: Captain Pete (Returns!)
After 7 years away, Captain Pete has returned to the Wild Dolphin Project! Captain Pete returns to the project with decades of experience, both with us and other vessels, holding a U.S. Coast Guard 1600-ton master license, open oceans. He filled in for our last two trips of the 2022
Bottom Behavior
Be sure to check out all of the blogs in this rare behavior series (Can anyone hear me, Pesky Remoras, Bottom Behavior, Bubbles, Synchrony).The dolphins that we study in the Bahamas are often observed over sandy stretches of habitat. Over the decades we have observed some rare behavior and use
Sometimes Fish are Toys, Not Food
Brittini A. Hill Dolphins will play with just about anything they can find. You may have seen pictures of the spotted dolphins playing with sargassum, scarves, sea cucumbers, or even plastic. On our last trip to the Bahamas, we came across four dolphins playing with something we don’t see quite