No, That Dolphin is Not Smiling At You
It’s a familiar sight — whether at aquariums, in the movies, or Instagram photos — a friendly-looking dolphin with an open mouth, which gives the appearance of a smile. But, in the wild, that open mouth is anything but friendly. In the Bahamas, people have the incredible opportunity to swim
Plastic is Bad. Real Bad.
In the Bahamas, spotted dolphins play with sargassum seaweed. They play games of keep away and chase, passing the seaweed effortlessly from their rostrum, to pectoral fin to fluke. But sadly, they also play with plastic — we witness it. So far this summer, we’ve already observed dolphins playing with
Another Fourth Generation!
For 36 years, researchers with the Wild Dolphin Project have studied generations of dolphins in the Bahamas. As many of you know, it was founded in 1985 by our current research director, Denise Herzing, Ph.D. In 2016, the project reached a major milestone when the first fourth generation calf was
New Research Alert! Shifting Home Ranges in Spotted Dolphins
Recently, WDP graduate student Brittini Hill completed her master’s degree and thesis research. So, WDP sat down with Brittini to talk to her about her research and why she was interested in this question. Check it out. WDP: What was the goal of this research paper? BH: In 2013, an
Getting Ready for the Field
The 2021 field season is quickly approaching, so we thought we’d share what it takes to get ready! We live out at sea, which means we need to bring everything we could possibly need to collect data, to eat, and extra in the case of emergencies. Additionally, people join us
Spring is in the Air: Watch out for Marine Life
Saturday marked the first day of Spring 2021, which means more and more boaters and people will be out on the water, boating, fishing and recreating — and potentially, encountering marine life. It’s important to keep coastal marine life like sea turtles, manatees and dolphins in mind when out on
New Research: Spotted Dolphins Riskier When Fighting Other Species
Despite their friendly appearance, dolphins aren’t just cute and cuddly. They are wild animals that engage in aggressive behaviors, just like any other animal. Since 1985, we’ve observed the interactions between two species of dolphins who share the waters of the Bahamas Banks, the spotteds (Stenella frontalis) and bottlenose (Tursiops
The other dolphin of the Bahamas….
People travel from all over the world to snorkel and dive with the charismatic dolphins of the Bahamas, like the the playful spotted dolphins or aloof bottlenose. They’re pretty well-known marine mammals for the area. But, there’s another dolphin that cruises the waters of the Bahamas, and is far more
Meet the Team: Tyler Hazelwood
On a rainy, winter day in South Florida, long-time Wild Dolphin Project member Pat Weyer i ventured into a local dive shop looking for a rash guard. It was a slow day and while there, she started talking to instructor Tyler Hazelwood. They ended up talking for hours and she told
2020 Field Season: November
A Quick Trip Over Thanksgiving! This year has been quite a challenge, and we thought our data collection was going to be limited to the two trips we had in July. However, the weather gods provided us one more chance to get back over to The Bahamas for a few