Todays fin Friday shares the interesting life our local lady #dolphinsofponta Silva ( D.07a bdb) who first made it onto the catalogue in the March of 2009! Silva is estimated to be around 15 years old, given that the first image of her shows no ventral speckling and in juvenile stage and has been entered 128 times onto the #dolphincare database. Her most recognisable feature was certainly the nasty scar that can still to this day be seen.
Over the years Silva has had her fair share of run-ins with her environment and in 2013 she was observed with some light puncture wounds caused from an encounter with a shark.
Over the years we have built a close and trusting relationship with Jaws who later on became known as Silva when she, after many months of being absent arrived back in the southern most reaches of the Reserve in 2015 with a sheared off dorsal fin resembling that of adult females Slide and Slice!
By 2018, Silva had taken on the role of babysitter and was seen regularly in the company of little babes who she would bring in for an introduction - always keeping the babe safely on the other side.
Silva is a gift giver too and has engaged and passed on gifts to Angie that have included pieces of seaweed and what looks like to be some type of still to be identified tube worm or sea-pen.
During 2019 she was observed in social sexual activities with the young males in the area, including Pluto and the boys, and in 2020 she was observed with older, mature male Cheekey!
The last encounter we have with Silva was on the 20 Feb 2020, she was resting but still took time out to come for a visit.
We have a feeling that when we do see Silva again she will be with child, so exciting times ahead for the Dolphin Team in Ponta!
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To find out how you can go about adopting one of our special finned friends please visit the site of the Society of Dolphin Conservation in Germany.
Don’t forget to checkout our partners at the World Cetacean Alliance to find out more about our vision of A World where cetaceans are only found in the wild, are respected and fully protected!
