Terranautika was built on ISO Standards and one of our core values was protection of our environment, wildlife and economy. In summer 2018, we joined the research program of Blue World Institute and adopted two sweet dolphins, Nola & Elsa in the form of monthly donation. This program aims to support both, Blue World Institute & Dolphin Watching Adriatic in maintaining research and conservation activities for bottlenose dolphins and other dolphin species in the Adriatic.
Discover more on where our dolphins are at the moment:
‘Nola is a resident female we regularly encounter within Cres-Lošinj archipelago. This year however, she was eager for new inquiries and travelled a little further than usual. She was spotted in the company of Sosa, Kwama, Zora and Melita near the island of Olib and then again in the Lošinj channel with a large group of both, male and female dolphins. She also had a few trips to the island of Pag. Although Nola doesn’t have any new offspring, her calf born in 2010 who is now fully grown often keeps her company. During the sightings of the groups in which Nola was present, we noticed that she almost always swims with the females Lovro, Jelena, Dany and Zora. Sometimes they even let her taking care of their calves, showing the others her babysitting skills. On one occasion, while other moms were busy catching fish, Nola was swimming with two calves at the same time. Swimming right next to her, the calves followed her elegant movements near the sea surface. It would be a great pleasure if in the following year, along with the slightly marked but recognizably shaped fin of hers, we spot the small fin of new offspring. Because it is obvious that caring for the young calves suits her good.’
‘Elsa is a young female that, like Elmar, did not leave the waters of the island of Lošinj this year. She was often seen in front of Veli Lošinj, from where we start our search for dolphins. This year to our greatest pleasure, we found out that Elsa became a mommy once again! The young calf that she gave birth to in 2013 became independent in 2016 and was named Sebastian and we were impatiently waiting to observe a newborn dolphin in her company. On 20th of June, while following a group of dolphins that was feeding behind a trawler we noticed Elsa and her noticeable belly already then gave us a hunch that a new baby is on the way. And indeed, on July 12, to our delight, a small fin was swimming next to her. She found protection for her newborn in the company of the males Triton, Fabian, Bora, Šime and Babe. Her female friends Lovro, Dunja, Celina, Anna and Ivan helped her by babysitting the calf. The next encounters with Elsa were marked by her dedication to her newborn which did not separate from its mom not even for a second. It was swimming beside her and was learning how to properly dive and swim. The first thing it needed to learn was how to feed on its mother’s milk. It will help it to become strong and to grow bigger so it can be ready for the cold winter. We look forward to new meetings with this young family!’
Curious to discover more? Head over to blue-world.org and get excited about what we could do together.