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

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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

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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

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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

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Expanding in Florida

We study the dolphins at our longterm study site in the Bahamas during the summer months. That’s when weather and working conditions are best. During winter, our boat gets hauled out for a tune-up, while we analyze data to publish our scientific results, present at scientific conferences, give talks to

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Meet the Team: Research Associate, Bethany Augliere

For the last decade, you’ve probably seen photos of and photos taken by our research associate, photographer and social media wiz Bethany Augliere. Now’s your chance to learn a little bit more about her! Bethany grew up in the suburbs of Washington D.C., but always had a passion for the

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Human Activities Cause Deaths of Sarasota Bay Dolphins

In the span of two weeks, three dolphins died in Sarasota Bay  because of human activity, two adults and one four-month old calf. Their deaths were preventable. The two adults likely died from hook-and-line fishing gear, and the third was killed by a boat strike, according to Randy Wells, director

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Meet the Team: Captain Brad Ruda

Brad Ruda grew up in the Lake Worth, Florida and always loved the water and being outside. He spent his days boating fishing, camping and canoeing. After graduating high school, Brad had been working as a dockhand at the same marina where we dock our research vessel Stenella. He regularly

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2020 Field Season: Trip 2

Trip #2 & maybe our last for the 2020 Field Season… The 2020 Field Season is proving to be an interesting and frustrating one. Due to delayed COVID-19 test results, this last trip started four days late and on top of that we also had rough seas for the remainder

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Meet the Team: Executive Assistant Melissa Infante

Melissa grew up in South Florida and always had a passion for the outdoors and animals, spending much of her days surfing and riding horses. In 2015, she was looking for a career change and for something with a sense of purpose. She saw the ad on Craigslist for an

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