THE
TANGALOOMA DOLPHINS
Human
– Dolphin Interaction
Few
places in the world actually provide the opportunity for
humans to interact with wild dolphins in their natural environment.
Remarkably, two such places exist along coastal areas of
Australia. One in Western Australia, Shark Bay, and another
in Southern Queensland, Moreton Bay. Monkey Mia in
Western Australia is a well known site of regular social
interaction between humans and dolphins. For the past thirty
years, people have been travelling to the shores of Shark
Bay to visit a group of habituated bottlenose dolphins.
The dolphins swim into shallow water adjacent to a beach,
allowing tourists to stroke their bodies and feed them fish.
The
Tangalooma Dolphins
Tangalooma,
located on Moreton Island off the east coast of Australia,
is the sight of a recently established wild dolphin feeding
program. For many years, dolphins have been coming to the
waters beneath the resort jetty to feed on small bait fishes
attracted by the jetty lights. Not until April 1992 did
one of the dolphins, which has since named “Beauty”, begin
eating fish thrown to her from the jetty. Because she had
a young calf, “Tinkerbell”, still suckling milk, Beauty
may have been hungry enough to overcome her wariness of
people and accept fish. Within two months, Beauty began
to take fish handed to her by the resort staff. Since then,
other dolphins from her group have come to be fed at the
nightly feeding sessions.
The
dolphins that are fed each night are inshore bottlenose
species. They are resident in Moreton Bay and probably have
a home range of ten to fifteen kilometres of coastline.
Although there are over 400 bottlenose dolphins in the Bay,
only a particular pod of eight animals regularly visits
the resort. This may be due to the fact that inshore bottlenose
tend to stay within a fixed home range.
Each
of the dolphins that appear at the evening feeding sessions
have been identified by their size and characteristics markings.
A wide range of age groups exists within the pod. The youngest
calf to come into feed was born in 1997 (Nari), whereas
the oldest animal is estimated to be in his twenties or
thirties. Indications of age include size, number of scars
or nicks on fins and the degree of wear on the animal’s
teeth. Within this resident pod there appear to be five
females and three males. Most often females and their calves
arrive to the feeding sessions first, while dominant males
arrive later or are absent completely. The characteristic
dominance hierarchy is commonly seen during feeding sessions.
The dominant dolphins tends to position themselves in the
best feeding areas, often pushing out subordinate females
and juveniles.
The
Tangalooma Dolphin Care Program
The
Tangalooma Dolphin Care Program, established by the resort
in 1993, has adopted a responsible approach to managing
the dolphins’ interactions with people. Feeding sessions
occur only in the evenings in a designated feeding area.
This particular area, marked off with buoys, is reserved
for the dolphins, and all other activity, such as boating
and swimming, is prohibited. This area acts as a “Safe Haven”
for the dolphins so that they choose to come into the feeding
sessions.
Before
entering the water, guests are instructed how to feed the
dolphins and are required to disinfect their hands prior
to handling fish. This reduces the risk of transmission
of any illnesses to the dolphins. Touching or handling of
the dolphins is not permitted, as the program is designed
to ensure that the dolphins remain wild. Limiting the dolphins
contact with people is the best way to achieve this.
Research
The
unique situation at Tangalooma allows researchers the rare
opportunity to study sociable dolphins in their natural
environment. The resort recognises the potential contribution
to the scientific community and supports the research of
marine scientists through the University of Queensland.
Through this continued research it is hoped that Tangalooma
may become one of the premier sites in the world for the
study of wild dolphins.
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