Captain Cathy Eagle
October 2024
“If you want to study fish, first, you need to become one.” Jacques Cousteau
According to research divers in the Red Sea, the same is true for dolphins. Dolphins in the wild are generally very shy and keep their distance. Encounters between dolphins and divers are usually brief. The dolphins just appear out of the blue and then vanish again. If dolphins don’t want to be found, not even the most experienced diver can’t find them. A dolphin can out-swim a diver with just a flick of its tail fluke.
In 2006, Angela Ziltner, a biologist from Switzerland, and her colleague, Michael Stotterman, became adopted by the bottlenose dolphins who call the Northern Red Sea their home. Stotterman owns a tour boat and took Angela on her first dive. She was hooked. Stotterman taught her how to swim like the dolphin. They wear gray and black wetsuits to blend in with the dolphins.
The pair of humans and their support staff, including an underwater photographer and a marine veterinarian, have developed a ‘dolphin style’ of swimming underwater. The dolphins have become very comfortable with the diving team and invite them into their pods to swim along. The dolphins even slow down their swimming to allow the divers to keep up.
In one of their dolphin encounters, the divers discovered a dolphin that had sustained an injury to the dorsal fin probably from a shark. The dolphin was alone and weakened by loss of blood and pain. The dolphin approached the divers and seemed to be showing them his injuries.
It was clear the dolphin couldn’t keep up with the rest of his pod so remained behind. His behavior was unusual for a wild dolphin but he clearly was drawn to the humans. Dolphins are social mammals and seek companionship even if it is another mammal such as a human. The team named him Ferdinand.
Ferdinand’s wounds finally healed and one day, he disappeared. He rejoined his pod and then out of nowhere, he came back to the divers with his original pod. He had reunited with them! He was fully recovered and in robust health.
However, the divers noticed something different. Ferdinand had a large belly and was clearly pregnant! The only way to really determine the sex of a dolphin is to study the underside of the dolphin. Male dolphins have two slits near the tail that look like an exclamation point. Females have three slits. Welcome home, Ferdinandina!
Capt. Cathy Eagle
Capt. Cathy Eagle has spent over 40 years boating in our local waters. As a professional charter captain she specializes in dolphin and nature tours.
