April 28, 2018 - The Blue World Institute came out with a new batch of photos featuring the friendliest residents of the Adriatic
It's been a month since the last time we paid some love to dolphins around here! Inexcusable. It's spring, and it's only right to coo over some adorable animals.
One of our long-time favourite crews, the Blue World Institute research team recently headed to the waters of north Dalmatia to study common bottlenose dolphins. This time around, the monitoring work was carried out as part of a collaboration project with two renowned public institutions: Kornati National park and Telašćica Nature Park.
"During the two-day fieldwork, we observed five groups of bottlenose dolphins on the southernmost part of Kornati Island and off the west coast of Dugi Island, within Nature Park Telašćica. The collected data will contribute to defining the spatial distribution of common bottlenose dolphins in this area and will improve the current knowledge on social relationships and interactions between the individuals within investigated areas. In addition to the impressive beauty of the landscape, we also admired the rich marine biodiversity. Along with a large number of dolphins, we managed to record a variety of other interesting marine organisms", wrote the BWI on their website.
Alongside dolphins, they recorded other species such as the loggerhead sea turtle, salp, siphonophora, and scopoli's shearwater, a protected bird species nesting on island cliffs and rocky shores.
It seems like the dolphin crew was having quite a good day, their carefree play resulting in some splendid shots taken by the researchers.
How many dolphins can you spot on this photo?
If you want to become a member of the BWI team for a while, there's still time to apply for their eco-volunteer programme taking place throughout the summer. Here's a short rundown:
"By joining the programme, you will help in running the field research including collecting scientific data and learning how to manage and analyse it. This is a unique opportunity for people from different vocations to become biologists for a few days and experience how the research on wild bottlenose dolphins is done. Eco-volunteering is organised during the summer, when the weather conditions are stable and the number of observations is high. It is actually possible to observe as many as 50 dolphins in one day. In return for your help, we will make your stay in one of the most beautiful Croatian islands worthwhile. The island of Lošinj, where our eco-volunteering base is located, offers plenty of outdoor activities and fantastic experience. The eco-volunteering programme is both enjoyable and rewarding in terms of learning, exploring, and team building."
Learn more about the volunteer programme here and follow the Blue World Institute on Facebook for more photos and videos of precious marine wildlife.
Use your imagination, says the caption for this one.
Photo credit: Blue World Institute
