Pink belly!
Dolphin jumping in the water!
In the Charleston area there are 350-450 year round residential Tamanend’s bottlenose dolphins. This particular group of dolphins or stock of dolphins only hangs out in the tidal salt marshes and surrounding estuaries. During the summer months this number of dolphins increases to about 900 individuals. This means there is a transient stock of dolphins that visits the area. Organizations like Lowcountry Marine Mammal Network, NOAA, and the South Carolina Aquarium participate in dolphin counts to help acquire those population counts. In the summer there are plenty of bait fish available to support higher dolphin numbers!
Dolphins are marine mammals therefore they are protected under the marine mammal protection act. This act states that one cannot harass, feed, chase, ride, or pet marine mammals. One is not permitted to do anything that would CHANGE a marine mammal’s natural behavior. The law also states to give dolphins space of at least 50 yards (including watching them from land!!).
Fortunately for us as BIET, we often (but not always) get to witness fascinating dolphin behaviors when we are out on the water. Think breeding, feeding, breathing, breaching and more! There are certain signs of each behavior and one sign we would like to mention today is a sign of dolphin, for all intents and purposes, ”flirting”. One sign for dolphin flirting is when the dolphin looks like it’s rolling on its back almost like a dog showing you its belly. As you are observing this dolphin from a distance, notice if there is pink belly. If there is pink visible, you may be witnessing flirty behaviors! When dolphins are feeling flirty think of it like when humans blush. We have excess heat that rushes to our cheeks. Dolphins excess heat is visible on their bellies and turns their normally white belly a light shade of pink! Though it is fun to think of pink belly as a blushing dolphin, this doesn’t just happen in “flirty” behaviors but anytime the dolphin is active and needs to get rid of excess heat!