Dolphin DayDolphin Drawing Winning 2011: Ivan Grgić, aged 10,Zagreb Annual Magazine of the Blue oftheBlue Annual Magazine World Research &Conservation Institute ofMarine www.blue-world.org [email protected]
2011 During this research season, we season, research this During area of cape Kamenjak inIstria. the in year last also observed was which female adult an likely most is individual sighting this and this recorded, was During film underwater Sea. Adriatic the in guest the welcome a always it's in So, world. species seal rarest the probably and mammals marine endangered the most of one is seal monk Mediterranean The Cres. of the island off the of June coast western of 24th the on seal monk the of of observation the course One of In addition to theis usual research them remembered. be certainly some events will activities educational and animals. marine amazing these of protecting and studying in professionalism the highlights which sea Adriatic the fortrainer regional recognised a is World Blue my Montenegro. year tors for training researchers in Albania and this colleagues Nikolina and Grga were Furthermore, instruc - 86 them found times. we sea the on trips 70 our work, field the during dolphins: finding Concerning in difficulties any great year. This past season we didn't have a it was and continued activities research like to joinpleasecontact me. would and Rijeka around work or live for you If students. school conservation high and elementary environmental help to and Rijeka biodiversity about in programmes develop founded was Club YouthWorld Blue the June In centre. the busiestwasyearthe yet This for groups in participate in our lectures and workshops. and to us school visited which of groups kindergarten number large the with pleased are extremely we that with mention to occupied like I'd start, were To year. the we throughout what you this to In have to present happy briefly Akvamarin.particularly will am I I section introductory another of the from pages you greet to opportunity this Dear Friends Mateja Zekan Best regards! then enjoy new this issueofAkvamarin. until and us, visit to you invite we already doneit not have you If Sea. Adriatic the our all to thanks warm Finally,a with research and protection of dolphins in continue to us enables year every support volunteers, whose donators,adoptersand "The Island". Lošinj presentedexhibition titled club, Photothe the of members the summer the exhibition "Around the island". And later in the of author the Čavlek, Igor of lens the very through island the see to opportunity two the hosted Educational Marine has Lošinj had the Visitors In exhibitions. photo interesting it summer this exhibition, permanent its beside Centre, Day Dolphin exceeded ourexpectations. year's and this visitors of of participants response the date, the Day of Dolphin change 19th the the Despite year years. This coming the will be the new date for this celebration for was organized on the 1st of July, 2011, this recuperation time. after some releasedwas other the Pula, in and one of them was sent to the aquarium recovery, for turtles sea injured two had we calls your to Thanks them. disturb to well as how they entered, and it is best not - rare as just not port the leave can animals arehealthy Dolphin ports harbour. the in the encounters in of residents dolphin the mid-summer In nose - bottle us solitary the of informed presence the Cresabout of island the on Osor tera physalus. - whale fin in a was it cases that both assume we However, certainty. any with species the confirm to possible wasn't it whale, the of footage amateur a with accompanied was observations the of one Although Pag. in of bridge the whale, near a of Rijekain mid-July Bay Octoberearly in and reports two received - Balaenop Where are they now? Santiago Ivan
Jop Despite its male name, when we first Tac met this year in July, Santiago surprised us by This year we met Jop four times. We having a newborn calf by her side. We met them first met this 'teenage' dolphin in the company We met Ivan twice this year. The first This year we were alittle bit worried near the island of Oruda and the tiny fin of of his mother in July in a large group of 35 time we saw him in a group of 14 dolphins near because we did not see Tac until October. And Santiago’s newborn was hardly even noticed on dolphins near the island of Prvić. That was also the islet of Kozjak close to Lošinj Island. With then, in an interval of 7 days, we observed her in the surface close to its mothers body. Shortly the first encounter with Jop we recorded in the him in the group were Lily, Elmar, Quirin, and two very remote locations just within the after that we saw them again in Lošinj Channel, Velebit Channel. Shortly thereafter, we noticed Nataša with her baby. As usual, he delighted us border of the research area. We first met at the between the island of Orjule and Veli Lošinj, in a him immediately when sailing from the port of with his playful behaviour and stunts. island Zečevo in Velebit channel in a group of 40 large group of about two dozen dolphins. Veli Lošinj, accompanied by another 30 or so Next time we met him only in early dolphins. Beside her was her calf from 2008 that Besides Santiago, the group included other dolphins. Some of them, like Mirna's and October, near the Island Zečevo in the Velebit socialized with other 'teenagers' in the group. moms from the area of Kvarnerić that are Celina's offspring are Jop's good friends. They Channel. And this is when Ivan proved to be an He delighted us with a tireless exhibition of well-known to us, including Quiz and Quizson. are often together in the group, and very often extremely sociable dolphin. He came to our acrobatics. Next time we encountered her in the Females of bottlenose dolphins appear come close to our research boat, which gives us boat watching us curiously. His regular shaped southeastern part of the research area, accom- frequently together. Adult females then help a chance to make good photos of their dorsal fin, which still has the recognisable white stripe, panied by Allison and her calf Indy. On that each other in the group by watching their fins for their identification later. Young dolphins this year got two new small knicks in the occasion they were feeding behind a trawler offspring when the mother decides to separate typically do not have significant notches or middle. with Tac's and Alison's calves repeatedly for a little time to search for prey. markings on their fins, so it is very important to He was regularly seen in a group this approaching us and for a time surfing the bow The last time we met Santiago was document even their smallest changes with year swimming with Vivian, Tijana and her calf. wave of our research boat. near the island of Silba with dolphins Tanja and good photos. We hope soon to have another chance to enjoy Tac is one of the rare dolphins whose her calf while feeding on fish behind the trawler. Every time we meet a large group, his company and that he will take some time to dorsal fin has remained almost unchanged. Our presence did not hinder their activity. They our eyes always look for Jop's fin, and when we entertain us with his dynamic and playful There is a visible white line in the form of a appeared regularly on the surface with their finally see it, everyone is very excited. In August character. lightning bolt which makes her easy to identify calves curious glancing at us and Santiago’s we saw him near the island of Morovnik and on the sea. We hope next year we have more newborn treated us with a particularly interest- again in September in the very heart of our opportunity to socialize with our Tac. ing jump. research area, near the islet of Kozjak.
To adopt a dolphin please visit our website: http://www.blue-world.org/en/get-involved/adopt-a-dolphin/ Mush Debby
Meta Sonja We've known Meta for years now. He's always been very friendly and gregarious, usually seen with his gang: Mush is one of the most resident Sonja is one of those dolphins Mush, Lily, Maestral, Duje and Šime. This dolphins in our area. We still find him that surprises us. Most dolphins prefer year however, we noticed that Meta regularly in the Lošinj archipelago. After all, certain areas, but she can be seen from as To us Debby is something like a matured. He is now calmer, swimming this is where all his friends are. This year far north as Krk island to the most southern gentle giant. She is a huge dolphin with aside of the group, as if he does not need we saw him around islands of Oruda, part of our study area, around islands of very long dorsal fin and very dark body to prove himself anymore with fighting Palacol and Orjule, but also just in front of Silba, Olib and Molat. She obviously travels coloration. When observed in a group of and jumping. Veli Lošinj where he was fishing together great distances, but is always in groups dolphins she is definitely distinctive and We’ve seen him mostly in the with other males. with other females and often offering often, to us, recognizable even from the area just in front of Veli Lošinj. Although On one occasion he surprised us babysitting service to them. distance simply for her impressive size. not so playful anymore, he would still with several high jumps, merely meters Since we don’t see her as often In 2011 we saw her mostly in the approach our boat to check us out and from our boat. Moments later, as other as other resident dolphins, it is always a central part of our study area in groups of then continue with fishing. dolphins approached from the distance, pleasant surprise to see her long and thin nurturing mothers with calves. Although we realized he was calling them. There was dorsal fin, which makes her so easily recog- her calf Minkie from 2006 matured and probably a large school of fish beneath the nizable. separated, she still does not have a new boat and Mush decided to share it with his one on her own, but is rather a dedicated friends. baby sitter to other calves. This is how she shows gentle and helpful nature.
Nikolina Rako & Grgur Pleslić
Blue World is an independent, non profit organisation financed through adoptions, sponsorships and donations. If you would like more information about our work please check our website, or contact us directly:
www.blue-world.org; [email protected] (T) +385 51 604666; (F) +385 51 604668 Kaštel 24, Veli Lošinj 51551, Croatia Volunteering at Blue World - 12 Kids Corner days working with us... 4 5 3 9 10 From May to October there is the found an injured loggerhead turtle. Volun- 1 2 6 8 7 11 possibility to spend 12 days working with us teers helped to take care of the turtle which 83 in Veli Lošinj, participating in the research, was released after recuperating. 12 82 helping out in the centre and, of course, on Although it may seem like no 13 81 14 the boat. This season, we had 23 Volun- holiday, volunteers still have a lot of free 80 teers spending their holiday with us from time to enjoy the island, its beaches or do 79 15 all over the world, including Egypt, some trekking tours, either on their own or 78 76 16 Portugal, Lebanon and the United States. with the researchers. If there is the possibil- 77 35 17 Now, what can you expect as a volunteer at ity, volunteers are shown the island includ- 75 69 34 18 19 20 Blue World? Well, there are a lot of ing the Vulture Rescue Centre in Beli, the 68 67 70 36 21 different possibilities. If the weather is fine, beautiful and romantic village Valun or the 74 37 33 31 66 32 30 22 which means almost no wind, the volun- spectacular view of Lubenice all on the 71 38 73 23 teers go out with the research team to find island of Cres. 72 65 39 40 29 dolphins. When they find dolphins, volun- This year, one volunteer group 41 64 24 teers take important data like GPS position, climbed Osorščica Mountain (588m) which 42 63 59 43 28 25 time and sea state. Trips with the boat can has an impressive view over the surround- 44 62 26 take up to 8 hours, depending on the area ing islands, reward for the suffering from 60 58 45 61 27 of research and the number of dolphins the climb. Also, volunteers can always have 57 46 found. Of course the boat trips are the a day off; volunteering at Blue World is still 56 47 preferred program of volunteers, since a holiday and should be seen as the 55 48 there is no other way to get closer and possibility to help, to learn and to experi- 49 54 experience the special moment of seeing ence something special, our wild dolphins. 51 50 wild dolphins. If the weather is not fine, Volunteering is one of the main 53 52 researchers and volunteers work in the methods to support our research. By centre, entering and analyzing data about joining our program volunteers help to the dolphins. continue the research and protection of the But there can also be special dolphins in the Croatian Adriatic. For more work for the volunteers. At the beginning of details check out: July for example, there is the famous ‘Dolphin Day’ in Veli Lošinj. Volunteers help http://www.blue-world.org/en/get- Connect the dots and see who is in the picture with the activities of the day, such as super- involved/volunteer/ vising kids drawing and painting, giving information to visitors and helping the Annika Batel team of Blue World. Also, last year for (that’s me in the shades) example, there was a solitary dolphin swimming for several days really close to the shore in Osor, 25 km from Veli Lošinj. In this case volunteers were responsible for public awareness and education, giving brochures with information about the dolphin and a code of conduct, as dolphins are a protected species in Croatia. In August, the researchers of Blue World Impressum: Text, photographs and design: Blue World / Illustrations: Anton Horvatović www.blue-world.org [email protected]