Oh Baby! Meet the 2024 Sarasota Bay Dolphin Calves!
2075 is the first young-of-the-year (YOY) Sarasota Bay dolphin of 2024! We captured this image on May 7. If you look closely at the calf, you can see stripes between its head and dorsal fin. These wrinkles are called “fetal folds” or “neonatal folds” and are from the fetus being folded in the mother’s womb. As the calf grows and fills out, these stripes will fade. YOY babies are in crucial stages of learning how to survive. Boaters should keep a watchful eye out for them “corking” at the surface — especially in shallow waters — and be sure to give them plenty of room.
2024 Dolphin Calves
1096 (left). Calf of F109, also known as Scooter. Scooter is the calf of Vespa (FB79). Image taken May 13, 2024.
2197 (right). Calf of F219. F219 is the 1995 calf of a dolphin called 49-Lookalike (49LA). Image taken June 5, 2024.
1139 (left). Calf of Lizzie (F113). 1139 is the grandcalf of Killer (FB90). This is Lizzie’s ninth calf! Image taken June 6, 2024.
This is CVR1, the first calf we have observed from Clover (2151), who received her nickname after surviving injures from a boat propeller and a separate fishing-line entanglement. Mom is lucky to be alive! Image taken on July 9, 2024.
LEX1 (left) is the first calf we have observed from ILEX (1511). ILEX is named after the genus for Holly, which is her mother’s (F151)’s nickname. Image taken on July 10, 2024.
This is MRK1, the first calf we have observed for Mudraker (MRKR). Image taken on July 10, 2024.
This is calf 2513, the third calf of F251. This calf was first observed on Sept. 5. Image taken on Nov. 14 2024.
This is 1714, the fourth calf of F171. This calf was first observed on Sept. 9, the day this image was taken.
Not all new calves survive their first year. Four of the calves born in 2024 are presumed to be dead, following repeated sightings of their mothers without them. They are calves 1976 (image not available), 2095, 2274 and 2352. Because the carcasses of these calves are rarely found, it is difficult to know cause of death. Findings from examination of 1976 suggested complications at birth.
2095 (left). Calf of F209 was the grandcalf of FB55, great-grandcalf of FB05, who was first identified in 1971. 2095 is the younger sibling of 2094, who SDRP disentangled in February 2023. Image taken June 5, 2024.
2274 (front), was the fourth calf of Patch (F227). Image taken July 9, 2024.
Calf 2352 (right) with mom F235 (left). Here, they were with dolphin F283 (the fin in the middle). Image taken on July 9, 2024.
