I really like this shot. Do you know how old the calf is?
Obviously porpoises are much less spectacular than bottle-nosed dolphins, but do you think they might be easier and more satisfactory in captivity?
It is one of three born this year, all in March-April. The 'resident' group currently consists (as I understand it - they were too hard to count!) of 1.3.3 - a pair moved to EcoMare on the island of Texel earlier in the year. There were a further six individuals in the treatment centre on the day we went as well.
All the adults in the exhibit ('Porpoise Bay'), and at EcoMare, are unreleasable rescue animals.
Not sure whether they're easier as such, but they're certainly more compact and would be a great exhibit for a small-midsize aquarium without the space (or desire) for dolphins. They're brilliant to watch - and it's nice to see them properly, as although they're relatively easy to find in the wild the view tends to be fairly perfunctory!
Not sure whether they're easier as such, but they're certainly more compact and would be a great exhibit for a small-midsize aquarium without the space (or desire) for dolphins. They're brilliant to watch - and it's nice to see them properly, as although they're relatively easy to find in the wild the view tends to be fairly perfunctory!
Yes indeed, they are hard to observe. The only good view I have had was on a whale watching trip off Jura - it was a tiny greyish calf, which looked much smaller than this (which is why I asked). It was with its mother and I totally failed to get a photo (of course). Needless to say it was the only proper view of a cetacean we had on trip - and just about the smallest one possible
