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Photo credit: © Sarasota Dolphin Research Program, Brookfield Zoo Chicago. Photo taken under NMFS/MMPA Scientific Research Permit.
Mystery Dolphin #1: Mabel/F197 - Adult Female (Born 2003)
Mabel is a 22-year-old, adult female dolphin. She is the mother of five calves and a grandmother to at least one calf. Her grandmother was one of the original resident dolphins observed in Sarasota Bay community.
Mabel's signature whistle is often captured by the passive acoustic listening stations (PALS) within the Sarasota Bay Listening Network (SBLN) near the mouth of Palma Sola Bay.
In this area, there is high boat traffic, including local recreational boats, rental boats, and dolphin tour operations. Here, Mabel and her dolphin family face frequent disturbances from vessels. Unfortunately, her third calf was struck by a boat propeller across its forehead in 2018. The wound, shown in the photograph to the left, healed, but the calf disappeared in 2019.
Mystery Dolphin #2: Ginger/F211 - Adult Female (Born 2005)
Ginger is a rescue and rehabilitation success story! Ginger was found stranded on Siesta Key Beach when she was three years old. This stranding happened shortly after Ginger separated from her mother following the birth of her younger brother, Wasabi.
Ginger was rescued by SDRP and Mote Marine Laboratory Stranding Investigations Program staff and rehabilitated. To keep her ready to return to the wild, she was fed live fish. This diet helped to prevent her from getting used to eating the dead fish that humans usually provide. Ginger recovered and was returned to her home in February 2009. She has been monitored by the SDRP ever since.
Today, she is frequently observed feeding along the seawalls of Siesta Key and recently gave birth to her fourth calf in 2023. You can learn more about Ginger’s life history in the children’s book, No Dead Fish for Ginger! The Story of a Sarasota Bay Dolphin, written by Cathy Marine.
Mystery Dolphin #3: No Assigned Name/F320 - Juvenile Male (Born 2019)
Maddie's Calf
F320 is a young male dolphin, a juvenile, who recently became independent from his mother. Like other juvenile dolphins, he must now find his own place in the Sarasota Bay dolphin community's social network.
Before venturing out on his own, he was frequently seen with his mother and younger sibling. Some calves have abrupt separations their mothers. Others, like F320, slowly make their way towards independence. On his own, F320 is ready to build new relationships and experience new adventures as he grows to become an adult.
Mystery Dolphin # 4: Perry/FB20 - Adult Male (Born 1989)
Perry is part of a strong, long-standing male alliance, or close friendship, with a dolphin known as Ped Notches. He is also one of the biggest of the adult male dolphins observed in Sarasota Bay and holds the record for the heaviest dolphin!
Perry has sired at least one calf in Sarasota Bay with a dolphin named Claire. It is not clear whether Perry is the father of another one of Claire's calves. (Occasionally, females dolphins have been known to have the same father for multiple calves, but this is unusual for dolphins.)
In 2012, a health check was performed on Perry. Ultrasound examination revealed a puncture wound near his pectoral fin caused by a potentially life-threatening stingray barb embedded near his lung. Luckily, veterinarians were able to remove the barb before it caused major damage, and he is still thriving in the Sarasota Bay community. (A photo of an ultrasound machine exam is included on the left.)
Mystery Dolphin #5: Maddie/F213 - Adult Female (Born 2007)
mother of F320; Mabel's Cousin
Maddie is the mother of three calves including F320 whose story is included above. Like her cousin Mabel, Maddie's grandmother was one of the original resident females observed in the Sarasota Bay Community. Maddie is well known by the Sarasota Dolphin Research Program (SDRP) team and often seen in SDRP monthly photo identification surveys.
Maddie's little brother, Roy Kent, was fortunate to be saved in 2024 by the SDRP team when he was observed entangled in fishing line with a bobber around and trailing from his fluke. Information about this rescue can be found at https://sarasotadolphin.org/roy-kent/
Mystery Dolphin #6: Wasabi/F264 - Young Adult Male (Born 2008)
Ginger's Brother
Wasabi, a 16-year-old, teenage male, is still figuring out where he fits in the Sarasota Bay dolphin social network. A few years back, Wasabi appeared to be forming an alliance with another young male named Joker (1253), who disappeared a year ago and is presumed dead. Juvenile and young adult males are often observed very actively socializing, as pictured to the left.
Wasabi has survived at least one shark attack. Researchers found a well-healed shark bite scar on Wasabi's left peduncle during health assessments in 2019.
As one of the first dolphins to "try out" a FastLoc GPS version of the satellite-linked tags, Wasabi has helped researchers develop ways to monitor and track offshore dolphins. He was selected because of his well-known range, centered on Sarasota Bay, that allows scientist to get consistent visual observations and GPS locations to test the accuracy of the location data coming from the tag.
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