New Bottlenose dolphin calf was born in well-known tourist destination

A NEW dolphin calf has been born at Western Australia's world-renowned Monkey Mia tourist destination.
The baby dolphin is the second born to Piccolo, part of a small group of dolphins that may be hand-fed by humans under strictly controlled conditions at the famous beach. The calf was born on Tuesday in the World Heritage-listed Shark Bay area, 800km north of Perth. "Both mother and calf are doing well, with the newborn measuring approximately 50cm long,'' WA Environment Minister David Templeman said.

Visitors are being urged to stay away from Piccolo and her calf when they come to shore to prevent the newborn from beaching itself. "In the first few weeks of life, the calf is tuned into the mother's movements and will follow any rapid movement in the water,'' Mr Templeman said. "If people are in the water near the calf and they move, the calf could follow and inadvertently beach itself.'' Almost half of Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins do not live past three years old.

“The Department of Environment and Conservation has implemented a program to minimise any human or vessel interaction with the calf to ensure it has the greatest chance of survival,” Mr Templeman said. “As such, DEC has urged visitors to the beach to remain at the water’s edge when the mother and calf are inshore to prevent the calf from beaching itself. “In the first few weeks of life, the calf is tuned into the mother’s movements and will follow any rapid movement in the water. If people are in the water near the calf and they move, the calf could follow and inadvertently beach itself.”

Mr Templeman said every measure was being taken to give the calf the greatest chance of survival, as there was a high mortality rate for dolphins born in the wild. Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin calves generally are born 12 months after mating. Newborns suckle for up to four years, although at Monkey Mia there have been reports of calves continuing to suckle for up to six years.