Researchers and marine biologists have spotted a group of more than 70 bottlenose dolphins off the coast of the northern Italian port city of Imperia. According to experts, dolphins rarely form such large groups in the Mediterranean. What made the observation even more exciting for the scientists was the large number of young animals.
“We counted at least 20,” explain experts Davide Ascheri and Elena Fontanesi from the “Delfini del Ponente” association. The more than 70 sea merganser is the largest group of dolphins ever seen in the waters of Liguria in more than four years of research.
Researchers took 3,000 photos of the animals
“Bottlenose dolphins rarely form such large groups in the Mediterranean,” Ascheri emphasized. These communities consist of twelve to fifteen specimens on average. Researchers took more than 3,000 photos to identify the dolphins based on some unique features of their dorsal fins.
“Bottlenose dolphins do not tend to form stable family groups. They do not have close bonds with each other, so it is difficult to understand the reason for such a large gathering. We can say with certainty that they are extremely social animals and that this large group may have been formed for nutritional or social reasons.”
Source: Krone
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