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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! Please feel free to post your comments below, like and share. 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!

This morning found us start a little later and pushed in at 10:15 for our first launch of the day. ‘Two Dads and the Kids’ joined us this morning on the dolphin boat and together with volunteers Laure and Marina we excitedly went in search of our finned friends. After yesterdays intimate and close encounter with only three dolphins, today offered up a completely different experience with the dolphin pod numbering close to 40! Males, females, young and old could be seen amongst the sea of fins. Image: Female E.02 bdm with her babe. Once our dolphin peeps were kitted up and ready we slipped in and were approached by female E.02 bdm and her offspring who spent just over a minute circle swimming and engaging before the rest of the large pod came quietly filing through in tight formation. Images: Left - Indo-Pacific Bottlenose Dolfriends! Right: Observing without disturbing Visibility was not great being close to the surf and the encounter was devoid of dolphin chatter par from some popping which can be heard when adult male B.07 bdm postures @4:36 in the video - presumably to keep the resting pod in tow. Images: Left - Adult male B.07 bdm Right - Silva and her babe The humpback whales are defiantly here and we can look forward to hearing their hauntingly beautiful sounds over the next couple of months as can be heard at @2:33 in the video! Back on board it was all dolphin smiles and deep gratitude for the experience we had all shared together. Please feel free to post your comments below, like and share. 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!

Ok - it’s cold, no sorry it’s flippen freeeeezing! That was ok though as we had dolphin and whale excitement running through our veins. As the sun was coming up, we met up with our small group of dolphin seekers and together with our volunteers Laure and Marina; briefed and kitted up everyone before heading off into the chilly blue yonder. Our first encounter of the day found us in the company of only three dolphins; two adult females and a juvenile. The in-water encounter was just short of 20 minutes and included a profound bout of conscious interaction with the pregnant ladies who spent time between engaging at the surface with us, before repeatedly diving to spend time on the sand, rubbing their swollen bellies and seemingly listening and waiting. Possibly there was another pod incoming that we could not see or maybe they were finding safety in the bay until some unforeseen threat moved off... Images: Above - female bottlenose dolphin with juvenile. Below - Female with deep rake marks (caused from other dolphins teeth; see how nicely evenly placed the rakes are)! The little juvenile was keen to spend time with Laure circle swimming, and given that this is Laure’s third visit, one must only assume that this little kid recognised her from before! All in all the encounter was relatedly quite with mostly echolocating and a little whistling. Image: Our volunteers getting up-close to the wild Dolphins of Ponta! Our second tour of the day left at just after 1pm which is pretty late for the Dolphin Boat. As a general rule we prefer to undertake our Encountours at sunrise when conditions are normally calmer and dolphins more plentiful in the coastal shallows. However given the great weather of the day we decided to accommodate our Maputo peeps as we were pretty confident we would be able to show them some humpback whales given resent sightings with days of breaches and blows being seen dotted on the horizon! Our inshore run up north found no dolphin activity, however offshore we spotted a number of whales with one particular group offering up some breaches and pec slaps! As can be seen in the video below. We also took the time to pick up some rubbish, one of which a plastic tub with a little fish who had made it home for a while. Returning home, it was a great day at sea for the Dolphin Team who are grateful for the support of our patrons, volunteers, dolfriends, the mighty humpback whale and of course the weather gods who smiled favourably on us this day! Images: Left - Mitch showing volunteer Marina the fish and it's home! Right - A very swollen bottlenose belly. Please feel free to post your comments below, like and share. 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!

Great conditions greeted us this morning and with flat windless seas we headed off in search of the local #dolphinsofponta! It was not long before we observed a group of coastal bottlenose dolphins cruising south coming towards us. On closer inspection it was noted that there were in fact three pods in the bay and towards the end of the encountour, when all pods merged, 40 dolphins were counted in the group. Image: Bottlenose Dolphins with Ponta Point in the background. In water we were welcomed as we found ourselves visited by some of our more sociable dolfriends that included moms Dalila, Gilly, Bo and Rocha with their latest babes as well as pregnant ladies Lumpy and Widea! Image: Baby bottlenose with a puff of milk escaping after a nursing session with mum Gilly! Today Rocha’s little girl was allowed to join in on a circle swim and bout of conscious interaction without mum. This cute little dolphin soul can be easily identified (for now anyway) as she has a jumbo size remora attached to her as well as a series of (fading) lesions. You can check out the interaction and in-water video from the encountour at the end of this post. Image: Gillys little girl with large pesky remora! An interesting show of teeth and what we call an open jaw display was seen from young female Bijou -normally it’s the adult males that show us their teeth when wanting us to back-off; with Bijou however there was no aggression, no vocalising and no charging, so as to what message she was trying to relay; that is unclear. It seems we have some predator activity in the bay as adult female Di was seen with a large, fairly recent shark bite. Image: Bijou and her open jaws and female Di sporting a shark bite scar. Images: Gilly nursing her babe; 2: Guests enjoying a close encounter with the dolphin kind. 3: Belly up circle swim with female. We are looking forward to getting back on the water again and thank our guests, volunteers and supports for joining us while we keep checking in on the local dolphins. Please feel free to post your comments below, like and share. Did you know you can adopt a Dolphin of Ponta through the Society for Dolphin Conservation - Germany https://www.delphinschutz.org/pate-werden/mosambik. By adopting a family line you directly assist in research and conservation of dolphins!

It was one of those beautiful dolphin diving days! As we were readying the boat - dolphins could be seen surfing the waves rolling off Ponta Point. Not long after we launched did we find ourselves in the company of a large pod of some 40 dolphins that included 9 dyads (mom and offspring pairs) including Savanna, Blossom and Silva with her first born! Images 1: Silva and her firstborn 2: Savannah and her calf 3: Savannah and youngster 4: Shiva having a poop - damn were is that sample bottle when you need it, he he 5: Teenagers surfacing from below. Slipping in we were immediately surrounded by engaging dolphins and what followed was truly humbling as we were singled out for belly up circle swims amongst social bouts down below where teenagers could be seen socialising amongst themselves. Images: Conscious interaction with the wild bottlenose dolphins of Ponta. We emerged from the water some 20 minutes later in awe of the close encounter we had had with the local Dolphins of Ponta who took time out of their day to come and spend time with us. Deepest gratitude to our guests and volunteers who made it possible for us to get out there. Please feel free to post your comments below and like and share. Did you know you can adopt a Dolphin of Ponta through the Society for Dolphin Conservation - Germany https://www.delphinschutz.org/pate-werden/mosambik. By adopting a family line you directly assist in research and conservation of dolphins!

Boom - and then we had beautiful blue! Our first launch of June (yes it been super quiet for the dolphin team) and we were blessed with calm seas and friendly dolphins. Unlike our previous launches recently which found large mixed pods of 20 - 80 dolphins in the bay, today we observed two small nursery pods. Image: Flat sea and golden light as the sun comes up. In Ponta bay Silva was observed, while in Malongane Gilly and her babe were seen with Ritz and two other young. It was not long before they approached the boat and started milling around - a good indication that they were happy for a visit. Images 1: Sociable dolfriends 2: Observing without disturbing 3: Direct approach 4: Up-close to wild dolfriends 5: Bass between surfacing dolphins. Slipping in we were welcomed by the small pod of 5 dolfriends who spent time between circle swims and pottering down below were they could be seen belly rubbing on sand and towards the end, inspecting a large bass who had made his way off the reef. Thank you to our guests who made this encountour possible and thank you to the local #dolphinsofponta for being so accommodating! Please visit our album page for images and screen grabs of encountours taken by our team! June Awesome Images (this is a guest area - password required) Please feel free to post your comments below and like and share. Did you know you can adopt a Dolphin of Ponta through the Society for Dolphin Conservation - Germany https://www.delphinschutz.org/pate-werden/mosambik. By adopting a family line you directly assist in research and conservation of dolphins!

Our last launch of magical may did not disappoint! Yip it was freezing with the wind chill, however once we were in the water that cold was drowned out by warm seas and friendly Dolfriends who were observed in Malongane Bay. The large pod was mostly traveling however we were soon joined by dolphins on the bow and when slipping in found ourselves in the company of mom Bo and her firstborn daughter Rocha; both ladies were with their babes. For grandma Bo - this is her 8th little bundle of joy and for Rocha, who is now 17, her second. Both mums calved during the summer of 2020 making these little kids still calves of the year. Images: 1: Slipping in 2: Bo's calf 3: Relatives 4 & 5: Rocha and her calf with remora and lesions. Rocha has some new nicks out of her dorsal and her little one does look a little worse for wear as he sports some interesting lesions and a pesky remora! Did you know you can adopt Bo's family line through the Society for Dolphin Conservation - Germany (please use translate). By adopting Bo and her family you directly assist in research and conservation of dolphins! The encounter was all in all rather quiet except for a wee bit of echolocating and Bo’s little one right at the end who broke out into some whistling. Thank you to our supporters Lydia, Christa, Paul and Paul Jr! The Dolphins of Ponta and volunteer Emma! Please feel free to post your comments below and like and share. Please visit our album page for images and screen grabs of encountours taken by our team! MAY AWESOME IMAGES

What can we say - magical May is certainly living up to expectations, both with weather and dolfriends. This morning offered up a great observation of the local #dolphinsofponta who were sighted on our northern run up the coast. The pod spent time coming and going as they milled around in the coastal shallows and once in-water we were able to observe a resting pod of mums and their babes below while male RemmyBoy and females Sheshy and E.02b bdm aka O2 and some their kids took time to come and visit - including one little one who still has the pesky remora and seemingly worsening lesions. Images: 1: RemmyBoy with a fresh lesion 2: RemmyBoy's scar on lower jaw & rake marks 3: Juvenile with lesion 4: Sheshy 5: Who is watching who. It has been a while since the dolphin team have met up with RemmyBoy who has undergone a bit of a fin change and has a new lesion on the top of his rostrum! Lucky for us he has a pretty cool dark patch on his side as well as a distinct bottom jaw scar that we can match to! At one point he got super excited and broke out into some pretty cool whistling and belly showing before heading off on his way. Thank you to our respectful dolphin observers, the local #dolphinsofponta and volunteer Emma for the images and video edit. Please feel free to post your comments below and like and share! Please visit our album page for images and screen grabs of encountours taken by our team! MAY AWESOME IMAGES

This morning a gentle offshore greeted us as we pushed in and made our way up the coastline. By 8am we had located a pod of the local #dolphinsofponta heading south coming around Malongane Point. The pod of around some 30 dolphins were traveling and surfing - however a number of our finned fiends came out to the boat and once we had slipped into the water we were surrounded by friendly dolfriends! Images: 1: Female Scarf 2: Volunteer Emma having a circle swim 3: Observing 4: Belly up circle swim 5: Eye to Eye Adult female Scarf, named after the large long scar the runs above and below her one pectoral came in for some close circle swimming with Angie while volunteer Emma enjoyed some exhausting circle swims with some younger dollies. It has been such a pleasure watching Emma’s relationship with the dolphins develop over the past month. It’s pretty awesome to watch them single her out for a bout of conscious interaction. At one point the cutest little boy arrived for some human time - amongst a cacophony of excited whistles he darted closely around and between us - allowing us all to revel in his cuteness. Thank you to our respectful dolphin observers, the local #dolphinsofponta and volunteer Emma for the images and video edit. Please feel free to post your comments below and like and share! Please visit our album page for images and screen grabs of encountours taken by our team! MAY AWESOME IMAGES

Although a tad bit chilly - sea state was on our side and the local #dolphinsofponta were plentiful with multiple pods observed in the Ponta do Ouro Partial Marine Reserve. After returning inshore - after a whale (no luck there) run offshore we picked up some fins heading south around Ponta Point. The large, mixed pod spent time between surfing and traveling in backline. Slipping into the water - winter green welcomed us once again as we waited to see if some members of the pod would peel off for a visit. Images: 1: Adult males passing by 2: Direct approach 3: Beijo & her lower jaw lesion 4: Reflection 5: #DolphinEncountours While the main pod continued on their merry way - a small group of mostly females made their way out of the surf for a visit and visit they did. A little later the main pod returned and they started cruising north - back around Ponta Point were we noticed more dolphins milling around. It was great to see Beijou (Kiss) again - she can be easily identified from a healed up lesion on her lower jaw! Her and another female spent some time circle swimming while showing off their breakfast - small little flounders that they had located while bottom grubbing in the sand below. Needless to say it was dolphin smiles all round as we all emerged feeling humbled at the close encounter with the dolphin kind. Thank you to our respectful dolphin observers, the local #dolphinsofponta and volunteer Emma for the images and video edit. Please feel free to post your comments below and like and share! Please visit our album page for images and screen grabs of encountours taken by our team! MAY AWESOME IMAGES

Sunday Fun Day! With calm waters and a slight offshore blowing it was good to go this morning! By 7:30 we were in-water, observing the local #dolphinsofponta in the coastal shallows of Malongane. Just short of an A class swim - the 16 minute encounter left us all speechless as dolfriends seemed to revel in the visit as much as us. At first three females - including E.02b bdm initiated the encountour and a few minutes later the rest of the pod arrived; Grandmother Sabby together with daughter Sheshy and her babe, together with other mums and offspring appeared out the the hazy green waters time and again as they milled around us surface dwellers whom for some, the experience was long awaited and just what the stress doctor ordered; out in the open, with fresh air and nature settling the soul and soothing the senses…. For Angie it was the little dolphin with the LARGE remora or suckerfish as sometimes called, and OH so interesting criss cross lesions! This is not the first dolphin seen with these interesting marks and one has to ask if they are caused from the remora - to something else? Images: 1: Remora on young juvenile 2: Dolphin Smiles 3: Direct approach from SheShy 4: Calm seas - the perfect ingredient to a good encountour 5: Angie trying to get a close-up of the remora - success! 6: Approach of the ladies.... Please feel free to post your comments below! Please visit our album page for images and screen grabs of encountours taken by our team! MAY AWESOME IMAGES Thank you to our respectful dolphin observers, the local #dolphinsofponta and DolphinCare Volunteer Emma for the great video edit.

Going for the gap! After a couple of days of pounding onshore, we finally managed to make it off to sea before the southerly winds arrived and located a pod of the local #dolphinsofponta right at the top of our northern range. Just as we were about to turn around and head back to Ponta - Mr Dolphin Eyes Dallas spotted a large pod of some 30 individuals close in backline heading north in Madajanine Bay. On approach the pod turned towards us and started approaching the boat to bowride - something they seem to be enjoying a lot of late! Once kitted up and slipped in - we were greeted by a mostly resting pod - with mums and babes tucked between the pod who moved through us. It’s interesting to note that although the majority of the pod did not want to engage, once again a small group peeled off and stayed to visit before joining up with the rest of the pod heading north towards Mamoli. Images: 1: Dolphin Smiles all round 2: Belly up circle swim with a young female 3: Female defecating 4: Bottlenose dolphins 5: Coming in fast for a bow ride. 6: Conscious interaction with the females. Please visit our album page for images and screen grabs of encountours taken by our team! MAY AWESOME IMAGES Thank you to our respectful dolphin observers, the local #dolphinsofponta and DolphinCare Volunteer Emma for the great video edit.