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BERMUDA CETACEAN SIGHTINGS PROJECT

LOCATION: BERMUDA

Robyn Faulkner Allen
Dolphin Quest

Jason Allen
Sarasota Dolphin Research Program, Brookfield Zoo Chicago

Andrew Stevenson
Whales Bermuda

A map of Bermuda.

PROJECT SUMMARY

A close up photo of a dolphin's flipper in the ocean.

Bermuda Cetacean Sightings

The Bermuda Cetacean Sightings project was established in 2015 with the aim of collecting location and population data to better understand and protect the marine mammals, excluding humpback whales (already in existence with many individuals identified) around the waters of Bermuda by establishing photographic-identification catalogs, primarily for bottlenose dolphins.

This project is an augmentation of Dolphin Quest’s Bermuda Wild Dolphin Project and a collaboration between Bermuda researcher and photographer Andrew Stevenson, the Bermuda Zoological Society, the Sarasota Dolphin Research Program, Brookfield Zoo Chicago, Island Tour Centre, and Bermuda volunteer Jen Simmons.

The photo-identification process involves photographing:

  • Distinctive patterns of nicks and notches on the dorsal fin, located on the back of the animal, which provides stability while swimming.
  • Any other distinctive body parts or markings.
A dolphin swimming in the water.
Dolphins swimming in the ocean.
A dolphin leaping out of the water.
Dolphin swimming in the ocean.

Bermuda Cetacean Sightings

These photos are compared to all identified individuals in the Bermuda Dolphin Photo-ID Catalog to distinguish if the individual has been photographed before or if it is a new individual to add to the catalog.

Globe sarasota dolphin research project
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