Bottlenose dolphin

..Dolphin Defenders!!

&

Hi, my name is Bond..Bottlenose Bond, and

my secret mission today is to turn all of you in to..

What is aDolphin Defender ?

• A Dolphin Defender is someone who loves dolphins and other animals

• Is keen to learn more about them and how they live

• Wants to help protect them, other marine wildlife and the ocean in which they live

• Is that you??

Sea Watch is a charity that works closely with the public to protect (conserve) whales, dolphins and porpoises (cetaceans) in British and Irish waters

Who is Sea Watch Foundation ?

Phew! That is good news, because I am a porpoise

Our research provides important information on changes to their numbers (population size), where they live and the condition of their habitats. This information is used to help conserve and protect these mysterious creatures.

So what do we know about mammals?

Breath air

Breath air Young Young drink milk

drink milk

Live

Live

young

young

Warm blood

FlippersFlippers

Smooth skinSmooth skin

Blubber to keep Blubber to keep warmwarm

Eat fish and other marine Eat fish and other marine creaturescreatures

Communicate using Communicate using soundsound

What about mammals that live

in the sea?

3 types of cetacean3 types of cetaceanPorpoisesPorpoises

WhalesWhales

DolphinsDolphins

15 SPECIES ARE REGULAR IN UK WATERS Harbour Porpoise, Common Dolphin, White-beaked

Dolphin, Atlantic White-sided Dolphin, Striped Dolphin, Bottlenose Dolphin, Risso’s Dolphin, Long-finned Pilot Whale, Killer Whale,

Northern Bottlenose Whale, Sperm Whale, Minke Whale, Fin Whale, Sei Whale & Humpback Whale

11 SPECIES ARE RARE IN UK WATERSRough-toothed Dolphin, Spinner Dolphin, Atlantic Spotted

Dolphin, Short-finned Pilot Whale, Beluga, Cuvier’s Beaked Whale, Sowerby’s Beaked Whale, True’s Beaked Whale, Blainville’s

Beaked Whale, Bowhead Whale & Blue Whale

9 SPECIES ARE VAGRANT IN UK WATERS Fraser’s Dolphin, Melon-headed Whale, False Killer Whale, Narwhal, Gervais’ Beaked Whale, Gray’s Beaked Whale, Pygmy

Sperm Whale, Dwarf Sperm Whale & Northern Right Whale

KNOW YOUR LOCALS!!!KNOW YOUR LOCALS!!!

How many of you make up the length of a blue whale?

How long does it take you to run the length of a blue whale?

Let’s go outside and find out!

Now it’s time to have some fun!!

Do you know what sounds I make?

• They use sound to talk to each other

• They use sound to find fish

• Different types (species) have different sounds

Let’s listen to some of their sounds

• Humpback whale • Right whale• Sperm whale

•Now it’s your turn!•Can you hear their sounds over boat noises?

• one of the largest bays in the

UK containing the least polluted and least exploited waters in Wales

• 100 km from north to south

• 4986.86 km2

• nowhere deeper than 60m

• very gentle slope

100 k

m

Cardigan Bay

The Cardigan Bay SAC (952.85 km2)

The Pen Llyn a’r Sarnau SAC(1,343.08 km2)

Two Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) in place since 2004

Cardigan Bay

That’s me!

Bottlenose dolphin Atlantic grey seal

Harbour porpoise

Which whales and dolphins might we see here in

Cardigan Bay?

Bottlenose dolphin

Bottlenose dolphin

Bottlenose dolphin

Bottlenose dolphin

The harbour porpoisePhocoena phocoena

harbour porpoisebottlenose dolphin

Can you remember the difference?

Harbour porpoise & bottlenose dolphin distributions in the Irish Sea

• widely distributed across the Irish Sea

• main concentrations in Wales are around principal headlands

• locally distributed, mainly coastal, particularly in summer

• main summer concentrations are in Cardigan Bay

Cardigan Bay – hp killings

May 2009May 2009

The Atlantic grey sealHalichoerus grypus

Atlantic Grey Seal

• UK hosts 40% of world population

• North (Bardsey island) and South (Pembrokeshire) of CB have important colonies

• in Southern Wales population around 5,000

• common dolphins

• Risso’s dolphins

• minke whales

Other species around Wales

• Illness because of pollution and rubbish

• Competition over fish with humans

• Capture and drowning in fishing nets

• Becoming stranded on beaches because of noisy Navel ships that use

sonar, or drilling

• Being injured by boat propellers

• Climate change• Hunting

A Dolphin Defender needs to know what threats we face so they can help..

So what’s the harm in plastic?

These threats are a real worry and can lead to possible local extinction. However, Sea Watch have a clever trick up their sleeves which sounds very secret agent!!

Photo ID

Over its lifetime, a bottlenose dolphin will develop markings on its fins and body through playing or scuffles with other pod members, and from scratching itself against rocks or the seabed. They can be bite marks or sometimes propeller cuts if they get too close to boats.

As a secret agent I have MANY girlfriends, and this gorgeous fin belongs to none other than MoneyPenny, who obviously is one of mine

The Sea Watch scientists take photos of bottlenose dolphins’ fins and use these distinctive markings and scratches to track them over the years – a little like using fingerprints to ID humans!

MoneyPenny

What can you do to help?

• Report your sightings

• Adopt a dolphin

• Reduce rubbish in the sea……. so don’t litter! …. and clean up rubbish you see on

the beach!

ChrisChris

Nic NicNic Nic FlintFlint TopnotchTopnotchSmoothySmoothy

Bond

With Sea Watch protecting us we can live safely and happily, and I’ll

always have lots of brothers, sisters and cousins to play with!

Yeah, and me too

www.seawatchfoundation.org.ukwww.adoptadolphin.org.uk

Congratulations you are now a

dolphin defender! Thanks for listening!