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Is this anything?
Posted: Sat Feb 07, 2015 11:39 pm
by dlh
I had the pleasure of diving with Bandito's Charters today off of North Wall. We were lucky to have an extra Dive Buddy join the group and dive along side us. A very friendly and curious Pacific Whiteside Dolphin!
Re: Is this anything?
Posted: Sat Feb 07, 2015 11:59 pm
by YellowEye
Epic!!!
Too cool!
Re: Is this anything?
Posted: Sun Feb 08, 2015 12:22 am
by Scubie Doo
Dave, those pics are awesome! What a great encounter. Did you have your WA lens on?
Re: Is this anything?
Posted: Sun Feb 08, 2015 12:27 am
by dlh
Shot with a Nikon D800 and 16-35mm lens.
This was the first time after about 15 years that I have ever encountered dolphins underwater in Puget Sound. Is this indeed uncommon or am I just unlucky?
Dave
Re: Is this anything?
Posted: Sun Feb 08, 2015 1:43 am
by Dusty2
Very uncommon. In my 12 years of diving I've never seen one!
Re: Is this anything?
Posted: Sun Feb 08, 2015 4:44 am
by ljjames
You are one lucky shooter! I'm envious
That little dolphin looks like he escaped the sharp end of some Biggs whales. (transient, blubber ball eating killer whales) It's got scuffs that almost look like teeth rakings and chunks that seem a bit aby-normal, but i'm no a mammal expert by a long shot. May I forward these on to my much much smarter than me friends who do whale research?
Re: Is this anything?
Posted: Sun Feb 08, 2015 8:10 am
by dlh
Certainly, pass them on. The notches in the pectoral fins are pretty distinctive. Apparently this individual has been seen hanging around the area for a few months. Must be a rough neighborhood.
Re: Is this anything?
Posted: Sun Feb 08, 2015 10:24 am
by ScubaJess
This is crazy cool Dave!!! You are so lucky!
Great photos! :-)
I hope to dive with you again soon! We can now call you the Dolpin whisperer!
Re: Is this anything?
Posted: Sun Feb 08, 2015 11:28 am
by Hoodsport_Diver
Great shots, Dave!
I'm totally envious. That lil fella looks awful friendly.
I hope to dive with you again sometime on Thursday PM.
Re: Is this anything?
Posted: Sun Feb 08, 2015 11:30 am
by mpenders
Very cool encounter and pics, Dave. Thanks for sharing.
dlh wrote:This was the first time after about 15 years that I have ever encountered dolphins underwater in Puget Sound. Is this indeed uncommon or am I just unlucky?
I've never seen them underwater, either. However, I once had an "escort" by several dolphins (no idea on species) while fishing/trolling around the Point Defiance/Owen's Beach area. This was about 10 years ago, at dusk in late summer - truly a fantastic experience.
Re: Is this anything?
Posted: Sun Feb 08, 2015 3:48 pm
by nwscubamom
dlh wrote:Shot with a Nikon D800 and 16-35mm lens.
This was the first time after about 15 years that I have ever encountered dolphins underwater in Puget Sound. Is this indeed uncommon or am I just unlucky?
Dave
Oh yeah, SUPER common to see these underwater. About as common as the Gray Whale sighting recently at Redondo.
- Janna
Re: Is this anything?
Posted: Sun Feb 08, 2015 4:25 pm
by dlh
nwscubamom wrote:dlh wrote:Shot with a Nikon D800 and 16-35mm lens.
This was the first time after about 15 years that I have ever encountered dolphins underwater in Puget Sound. Is this indeed uncommon or am I just unlucky?
Dave
Oh yeah, SUPER common to see these underwater. About as common as the Gray Whale sighting recently at Redondo.
- Janna
I guess I ought to start turning around a bit more often and see what's out in the open. Who knows what swims by when I'm not looking - Whales, Mola Mola, Trident Nuclear Submarines, etc.
Re: Is this anything?
Posted: Sun Feb 08, 2015 5:40 pm
by nwscubamom
dlh wrote:I guess I ought to start turning around a bit more often and see what's out in the open. Who knows what swims by when I'm not looking - Whales, Mola Mola, Trident Nuclear Submarines, etc.
May I just say how COOL THAT WAS??? And such great shots too. I think you are the only person I've ever known to get shots underwater with them. So jealous!
- Janna
Re: Is this anything?
Posted: Sun Feb 08, 2015 7:31 pm
by LCF
That's incredible! In almost ten years of diving, I've never seen them underwater here, and only once I have seen them from a boat.
Re: Is this anything?
Posted: Sun Feb 08, 2015 8:29 pm
by BillZ
Way cool Dave!
Re: Is this anything?
Posted: Sun Feb 08, 2015 8:54 pm
by ljjames
Here is reply from my whale researcher friend... I answered him that it was same dolphin in all pictures.
Thanks for the pictures. Do you know whether this is one dolphin with wounds on both pectoral fins, or one with a wound on the left and another with a wound on the right?
I don't think they were nipped by transients. Whales usually leave parallel tooth marks, and I don't see any evidence of that. It looks like there's a little scarring toward the front of the fins, as though they might have gotten tangled in a line or net. There are dolphin tooth marks visible on the body, so getting nicked by another dolphin is a possibility (and a probability for the nicks on the dorsal fin and flukes).
Re: Is this anything?
Posted: Mon Feb 09, 2015 12:18 am
by kdupreez
Woa! you are one lucky son of gun!! Damn!
very very very cool!
Re: Is this anything?
Posted: Mon Feb 09, 2015 12:23 am
by dlh
ljjames wrote:Here is reply from my whale researcher friend... I answered him that it was same dolphin in all pictures.
Thanks for the pictures. Do you know whether this is one dolphin with wounds on both pectoral fins, or one with a wound on the left and another with a wound on the right?
I don't think they were nipped by transients. Whales usually leave parallel tooth marks, and I don't see any evidence of that. It looks like there's a little scarring toward the front of the fins, as though they might have gotten tangled in a line or net. There are dolphin tooth marks visible on the body, so getting nicked by another dolphin is a possibility (and a probability for the nicks on the dorsal fin and flukes).
Yes, it was just one dolphin. Thanks for sharing the report!
Re: Is this anything?
Posted: Mon Feb 09, 2015 10:03 am
by Tom Nic
Absolute sweetness! What a spectacular encounter!