Dolphins - Thieving Exfins

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July 31

The wind came up over the last few days, preventing us from finding dolphins. We were setting up for a data catch up day yesterday, but got offered to go on a road trip instead. Data or road trip…hmmm. Guess what won out.

We headed down the peninsula towards some of the other sites Shark Bay has to offer. Our first stop was at the aptly named Shell Beach, so named because it is covered by billions of tiny white cockle shells. Stark contrast to the bright blue sky and turquoise waters of L’Haridon Bight.

From there we drove to Eagle Bluffs, a set of cliffs overlooking the bay. You can see all the way across to the salt mines at Useless Loop (where another dolphin project is set up). In the warmer months sharks, rays, & numerous other creatures circle the waters below. The cold winter water temperatures meant we only saw on tiny shark a.k.a. dark swimming blob. Great view though.

Further up the road back towards Denham we stopped in at Ocean Park, a small aquarium with sharks, turtles, sea snakes, and many of Shark Bay’s fish spp. I now know what a stonefish looks like although now I’m even more apprehensive about wading in the shallows. Stonefish are globular algae-covered lumps. They earned they name. The only part of them identifiable as fish are their eyes. If you have the misfortune of stepping on one of these ‘rocks’ in the shallows the spines, which can pierce flip-flops, inject potent venom. Apparently one of the most painful experiences on Earth. I hope to never find out. I already do the ‘Shark Bay shuffle’ when wading to move rays out of my way, but stonefish sit still. Just another friendly neighbourhood Shark Bay resident.

After a quick stop for lunch/groceries in Denham we went back to Monkey Mia for the rest of the afternoon. Data entered…nil. Dolphins...nil. Still a great day.

Aug 3

Windy mornings, calm afternoons for the past few days. Yesterday I almost didn’t go out because of a nasty headache. Glad I worked through it. We found a group of four males and one female who almost immediately began beelining it to the East, porpoising at 10 knots. In this situation you always look ahead for their intended destination, usually another group of dolphins. Sure enough up ahead was a massive mob of over 20 dolphins made up of a previously known male alliance, some excited juveniles (probably by-standers like kids cheering on a fight), a likely females as well. When the two groups met all hell broke loose.

Evidently the four males (with one previously captured female along for the ride) came in a stole a consorted female from the other male group. Some chasing around with splashing and who knows what else and the theft was complete. Keeping track of over 25 dolphins is damn near impossible.

You just never know what you’ll see on any given day. Staying back just isn’t an option because I’d be too afraid I’d miss an event like that. Just goes to show you numbers aren’t necessarily the most important thing in dolphin disputes. 4 ‘Exfins’ vs. 8 males in the ‘Usual Suspects’. Certain groups rank higher on the dolphin badassness scale (a scientific rating system of course). We learned a great lesson. When dolphins speed up and leap in one direction, look ahead and anticipate mayhem. Hopefully we see more thefts firsthand. These dolphins never cease to amaze me.

Aug 5

We weren’t even supposed to go out for long today. Wind was supposed to pick up in the afternoon. Thankfully it never did. After some fairly uneventful surveys (by Shark Bay dolphin standards) we found the action.

Six ‘Blues Bros’ had one female (3 had her + 3 other Bros). The other 3 wanted one too, so they proceeded to capture another female. Then they got excited and started leaping, head slapping, rooster strutting (repeated arching of the head slapping in chin down and lifting it tail up and down) and all sorts of other crazy behaviours.

The commotion attracted their buddies over (5 other Bros) who also happened to have a female. More intense socializing ensued. These are a seriously badass group of young males. The only reason we left was because the sun wouldn’t allow us to stay out any longer. Not bad for a day forecasted to be windy.

That'll be all for now. We've been 'stuck' on shore for awhile now except for one brief afternoon. Nice northerly front came through. After 5 straight days on the water before that all I wanted was a day off. After half a day off all I wanted was to be back on the water. Should be able to go out this afternoon and all this week though!

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