In September 2019 a baby bottlenose dolphin was born in a bay on the south east of the Isle of Man. The mother has been identified as Moonlight- a well known dolphin from the Moray Firth, and her calf has been named Starlight by the Manx community.
For almost 2 years now, our island has been blessed with wonderful, frequent sightings of this mother and juvenile bottlenose dolphin. In July 2020, Manx Whale and Dolphin Watch began compiling all sightings, photographs and video in one place, and continue to document this pair over the weeks and months. Sightings are being plotted using QGIS and we will be looking into tidal states, water depth, feeding behaviour and potential prey species.
Why are these two dolphins so special? Well, this is the first time we have known of a dolphin mother and juvenile who can be considered 'temporarily resident' to the Manx coast. It is also the first time that we have been able to document a newborn dolphin as she grows up and learns how to be a confident and efficient hunter. This pair are so frequently seen within just a few metres of our beaches, allowing us to gain an unique insight into their lives.
See the Story and Sightings page and scroll to the bottom for the most recent updates.
For almost 2 years now, our island has been blessed with wonderful, frequent sightings of this mother and juvenile bottlenose dolphin. In July 2020, Manx Whale and Dolphin Watch began compiling all sightings, photographs and video in one place, and continue to document this pair over the weeks and months. Sightings are being plotted using QGIS and we will be looking into tidal states, water depth, feeding behaviour and potential prey species.
Why are these two dolphins so special? Well, this is the first time we have known of a dolphin mother and juvenile who can be considered 'temporarily resident' to the Manx coast. It is also the first time that we have been able to document a newborn dolphin as she grows up and learns how to be a confident and efficient hunter. This pair are so frequently seen within just a few metres of our beaches, allowing us to gain an unique insight into their lives.
See the Story and Sightings page and scroll to the bottom for the most recent updates.
A little background into BOttlenose dolphins in manx waters
Let's put aside Moonlight and Starlight for just a few minutes and think about what bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) typically get up to around the Isle of Man. This will allow us to understand further why this pair are so unique.
- Typically, bottlenose dolphins are winter visitors, returning to Manx waters each year between October and March
- They are predominantly seen on the east coast between Ramsey and Port Soderick
- Bottlenose dolphins are gregarious and can be seen in pods of 100-200 individuals, made up of subgroups consisting of around 20 dolphins
- Photo-identification since 2007 tells us that the majority of the bottlenose dolphins that we see here spend the summer off Cardigan Bay, Wales.
