| Dolphin Etiquette |
Dolphins of Shark Bay |
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Please-Monkey
Mia is not a dolphin Disneyland. These babies are not trained
for your pleasure. When you're wading with the dolphins observe
the following rules:
DOLPHIN Q & A 1)
What species of dolphin visits Monkey Mia? Bottlenose
dolphins.
2)
How often and how much do you feed the dolphins at
Monkey Mia? The
dolphins at Monkey Mia are wild, come and go as they please, and
are not reliant upon humans for their complete diet.
At the beach they are fed up to three times per day and
only under the strict guidance of C.A.L.M. (Conservation and
Land Management) officers.
The dolphins receive a maximum of 2 kg of fish per day,
requiring them to remain self-sufficient;
their average daily intake being between 8-15 kg.
The dolphins are not fed after 1 pm.
3)
Are dolphins fish or mammals? Dolphins
are mammals.
They are warm-blooded, suckle their young, and breathe
air. 4)
How big are bottlenose dolphins? Bottlenose
dolphins average between 2-4 metres in length and weigh around
200kg (440 lbs.).
5)
How fast can they swim? Bottlenose
dolphins can reach speeds of up to 40 kph, but their average
cruising speed is around 5 kph. 6)
How long do they live? In
the wild, female bottlenose dolphins live into their late
forties, while male life-spans are often significantly shorter. 7)
How often do dolphins breed? Female
dolphins do not become sexually mature until their early
‘teens’.
After a 12 month gestation period, a single calf will be
born, tail-first, and nursed by its mother for somewhere between
4-7 years.
The mother will not have any more calves until it has
weaned the first one.
8)
How big are calves when they are born? On
average calves measure between 0.7-1.2 metres at birth and weigh
around 30 kg. 9)
Do dolphins sleep? Unlike
humans, breathing for dolphins is a voluntary action – they
have to think about it to do it.
Because they can not shut down their brains completely to
sleep like we do, dolphins ‘sleep’ by meditating with half
of their brain at a time.
In this fashion dolphins spend about one-third of their
day ‘sleeping’ in short stints ranging from two minutes to
two hours.
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This beach is located in what is now known as the Shark Bay World Heritage region, an area recognised for its unique marine environment and is home to some of the world's near extinct or endangered marine life, including over 10,000 Dugong, the most secure colony of these large air breathing mammals left on earth. Most mornings between 7.00am and mid-day, small groups of dolphins, all well-known and identified by their distinctive dorsel fin markings, visit the beach to interact with visitors who can walk amongst the dolphins in the shallows and feed them under the supervision of full-time national park rangers. The feeding of the Monkey Mia dolphins is very strictly controlled - only freshly caught local fish are fed to the animals and never more than one-third of each dolphin's daily food requirement is offered at the beach. This is to ensure that the animals do not become dependant on human handouts. A separate section of the beach is set aside where visitors can swim with the dolphins and observe their antics and family interactions. Monkey Mia is one of the most important dolphin research centres in the world, the clear shallow waters of the bay makes it easy to observe the animals in their natural environment. Since 1984, over a dozen scientist from Australia, North America and Europe have been involved in the Dolphins of Monkey Mia research project. Scientists study the dolphins who visit the beach, but most of the research focus is on the off-shore population of over 400 animals, with particular emphasis on the 100 plus dolphins who frequent the Monkey Mia bay area. Researchers investigate different aspects of dolphin ecology, reproduction and behaviour, including male relationships, mother-calf relationships and development, juvenile social development, ranging patterns, community structure, geological relationships, habitat and diet. A catalogue of fin pictures is kept, and this helps identify each animal, many of whom have developed amazing interaction with visitors. For example, dolphins are drawn to heavily pregnant women when they visit the beach. Because of the high concentrations of fish life on the bay area, the dolphins quite often offer visitors fresh fish which they themselves have caught. Another aspect of the Monkey Mia dolphins life is sponge carrying. Many of the dolphins seem to have developed a technique of carrying a sponge on their beak, this is thought to be used as a tool for fossicking amongst the sea grass beds for food. It is important to remember that Monkey Mia's dolphins are wild animals and must support themselves in a marine environment that can be hostile and dangerous. The young calves at Monkey Mia must learn natural behaviour from their mother and obvious to ensure that they know how to survive in the wild. Too much feeding and long periods at the beach significantly reduce these vital learning lessons. At Monkey Mia a feeding strategy is being developed which allows human contact with the dolphins while ensuring that the dolphins do not become dependant upon hand-out's or stressed by human interaction. Very strict controls apply to the feeding of dolphins within the Monkey Mia area, it is illegal to feed dolphins unless under ranger supervision.
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For
almost 30 years, 3 generations of wild bottle-nosed dolphins have made a
ritual of visiting a remote beach at a small settlement called 'Monkey
Mia', 850 kilometres north of Perth.