Skip to content
All articles
  • All articles
  • About whales & dolphins
  • Create healthy seas
  • End captivity
  • Green Whale
  • Prevent deaths in nets
  • Scottish Dolphin Centre
  • Stop whaling
We're at COP28 to Save the Whale, Save the World.

We’re at COP28 to save the whale, save the world

Ed Goodall Ed is WDC's head of intergovernmental engagement. He meets with world leaders to...
Gray whales from drone.

We’re taking steps to uncover the mysteries of whales

Vicki James Vicki is WDC's protected areas coordinator, she helps to create safe ocean spaces...
We must protect our non-human allies. Image: Tom Brakefield, aurore murguet, johan63

We’re urging governments to protect all of our climate heroes – CITES

Katie Hunter Katie supports WDC's engagement in intergovernmental conversations and is working to end captivity...
The Natütama Foundation are dedicated to protecting endangered river dolphins. Image: Natutama

Guardians of the Amazon: protecting the endangered river dolphins

Ali Wood Ali is WDC's education projects coordinator. She is the editor of Splash! and KIDZONE,...
Amazon river dolphins. Image: Fernando Trujillo/Fundacion Omacha

Amazon tragedy as endangered river dolphins die in hot water

Ali Wood Ali is WDC's education projects coordinator. She is the editor of Splash! and KIDZONE,...
Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin © Mike Bossley/WDC

WDC in Japan – Part 3: Restoring freedom to dolphins in South Korea

Katrin Matthes Katrin is WDC's communications and campaigns officer for policy & communication in Germany...
Wintery scene in Iceland

Seeking sanctuary – Iceland’s complex relationship with whales

Hayley Flanagan Hayley is WDC's engagement officer, specialising in creating brilliant content for our website...
Whaling ship Hvalur 8 arrives at the whaling station with two fin whales

A summer of hope and heartbreak for whales in Icelandic waters

Luke McMillan Luke is WDC's Head of hunting and captivity. Now that the 2023 whaling season...

A gentle start to the dolphin season…

Looking back on the start of my previous dolphin seasons it looks like we are not too far short of “normal” as far as dolphin numbers that have been seen goes. It has been a bit patchy though, with four or five of the very local dolphins being seen sometimes during rising tides and sometimes only one or two – but further out towards Cromarty and beyond, things are livening up nicely with our friend Sarah at Ecoventures in Cromarty seeing not only adoption dolphins Moonlight and Mischief but also a few days ago young “Spirtle” who stranded herself on a beach a few years ago and was badly sunburned.
 
April into May is when we expect to encounter more and more dolphins that we know well as the migratory salmon run picks up a bit of pace and the dolphins arrange themselves around the area at specific places like Chanonry Point, the Kessock Channel and Spey Bay to get the maximum chance of catching fish. Getting the photographs of the dolphins dorsal fins (like Kesslet below) and checking them off one by one against Aberdeen University’s Photo Identification catalogue has been compared to train spotting by some people – but as far as I’m concerned it is part and parcel of my working year and a fundamental part of the studies done with this population of wild, free dolphins…the way they all should be.