18 July 2014

New Hope



The female nicknamed "Hope" is one of the very few short-beaked common dolphins surviving in the Gulf of Corinth (just a few tens individuals, and declining).

Two days ago Hope was sighted together with a small calf. The calf looked like a striped dolphin, possibly being the outcome of inter-specific breeding with a male striped dolphin (or alternatively a pure striped dolphin calf that Hope was temporarily babysitting).

Hope and the calf approached our boat for a short while, allowing Silvia and Mariana to take these photos. The baby looked healthy and energetic.

(Two top photos by S. Bonizzoni, bottom by M. Ferreira Da Silveira)

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