As the sun rose over the Southern most point of Mozambique, local #dolphinsofponta were spotted by Mitch and Dallas coming around the point heading north. Not long after, the pod turned and headed back south - with Mitch loosing sight of them as they disappeared around Ponta Point….
This morning is the calm before the storm as we await a cold front that is making her way up the coast. Sea conditions were calm and outside air temperature bearable as we ventured out the bay.
It was not long before the pod was re-sighted (presumably the same pod) as they were socialising and surfing off the point. Seemingly curiosity got the best of them and soon the small group stated to make their way towards our boat and as we slipped in we were immediately surrounded by a bunch of young males.
Visibility was poor however dolphins were sociable and allowed our guests a fantastic opportunity of meeting local dolfriend Gandalf @0:33 in the flesh together with Shiva and some other young males.
Image above: Square pec Gandalf is now `9 years old - as he gets older his belly is going to become more covered in spots!
The encounter was full of interesting behaviours that included some chasing and mouthing, open jaws and even a little jaw clap from one of the younger males. During a belly up circle swim with a young male his excitement and tail got the better of him as he unexpectedly connected my camera!
Image left: Young males socialising and mouthing each other
Right: Male bottlenose dolphin belly up circle swim.
At one point some humpback whales could be heard loud and clear and the encounter ended with them abruptly turning and bolting offshore into the deep!
Thank you to Cheryl and her party for joining us this morning! We sure do hope we made some dolphin dreams come true!
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Did you know you can adopt a Dolphin of Ponta through the Society for Dolphin Conservation - Germany www.delphinschutz.org. By adopting a family line you directly assist in research and conservation of the local dolphins!
