meet our resident dolphin mother and daughter
Back in September 2019, when Moonlight was first seen with her new-born calf, we didn't know who she was or where she came from. Though initially seen with her new-born and two other adult dolphins, the mother dolphin was the only individual from the pod which had a clear enough marking on the dorsal fin to allow us to identify her. She has two small notches near the top of the dorsal fin which can be seen from either side on good quality photographs. This feature was so important early on in allowing us to follow this mother-calf pair and be sure that we are seeing the same animals each time.
ID shots of Moonlight (left) and Starlight (right(2023))
A scottish connection!
In July 2020 we were contacted by Barbara Cheney of the University of Aberdeen Lighthouse Field Station who had seen this website and thought she recognised our bottlenose dolphin mother. We sent over a few photos to be compared to those from the Moray Firth bottlenose dolphin population and she soon got back to us to say that it was a match!
This is incredibly exciting news and a first for us here on the Isle of Man. This mother bottlenose dolphin which has been temporarily resident around the Isle of Man since September 2019 is a member of the Moray Firth resident population and goes by the name Moonlight (#580 in their catalogue). First seen way back in 1996 as a sub-adult, she has had three calves previously, with Starlight being the fourth. Moonlight's previous calves have all been male:
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Both Lunar and Shadow were seen every year in the Moray Firth since their birth until 2019 when Moonlight and Shadow, among others from the Moray Firth population, were photographed on the north coast of Scotland in March 2019. Though it is not possible to tell for certain due to the distance of the photographs, we suspect that Lunar and Shadow were with Moonlight when she gave birth.
Report your sightings
As you might expect we are keen to hear about any and all sightings of these bottlenose dolphins so we can track their movements and progress.
We collate all cetacean sightings in our public sightings database which you can report directly to here. Don't worry if you don't know all the details, just report as much as you can and if we need to we will get in touch with you to find out more. We would also love to see your photos and video, even if they are just taken on a mobile phone we will add them to our growing collection. You can send them over to [email protected] Thanks so much and happy spotting! |
How to spot the family
Moonlight and Starlight can be very easy to spot, and are usually seen between Peel and Ramsey via the north, though they do sometimes check out other bays such as Port Erin. They prefer the shallow, sandy coastline of the north. They are very bold, often swimming within just a few metres off rocks, beaches and breakwaters, making them easy to see with the naked eye. They are not afraid to approach and interact with swimmers, kayakers and other boat users. People should always follow the Moonlight and Starlight Code of Conduct.
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