Name: F158

Sex: Male

Age: Born 1985

We’ve observed Grasshopper 93 times since 1989.

He was the first observed calf of Pecan Sandie (the first Florida dolphin tagged with a satellite-linked transmitter in 1990).

Pecan Sandie frequented the waters of southeastern Tampa Bay down into Anna Maria Sound and Palma Sola Bay. There, we also see Grasshopper’s sister, Allison, and Allison’s own calves in that area during our regular monthly population monitoring surveys. Grasshopper and his brother, F240, seem to spend more time to the north of our core study area.

A fun fact about this lineage? We’ve observed them using a specialized foraging tactic known as “kerplunking,” named for the sound made as the dolphins lift and drive their flukes downward through the surface of the water, creating a geyser above and bubbles below that may flush fish out of hiding along the edges of seagrass meadows.