Dolphins
of
Ponta
people of the sea
We are the Local Dolphins of Ponta! An inshore species of that live in the coastal shallows of the Lubumbo Transfrontier Conservation Area that links South Africa, Mozambique & Swaziland.
We frequently cross between Mozambique's southern most marine protected area and the iSimangaliso World Heritage Site and travel as far down south to Sodwana Bay!
Some of us are resident, in that we are sighted over all the seasons, over a number of years. while the transients visit occasionally.
We are Tursiops aduncus - commonly known as the Indo-Pacific Bottlenose Dolphin. Our inshore cousin Herme is of the Humpback Dolphin tribe - Sousa plumbea... In 1996 we had our first media debuts on TV and in print and by 1997 a citizen science project was developed to collect baseline data and imagery on us!
Nearly three decades later 255 of us have been catalogued and thanks to the care of local operators, partners and visitors, protective measures have been put in place to protect our kind and our home.
When visiting the Marine Reserve please take a moment to familiarise yourself with our cetacean family, where we occur and what to do if in the event you encounter us at sea and remember in our Park, we are protected, which means no-one is permitted to swim with us, unless on a permitted dolphin concession boat.
Meet some of the Ladies
Bo
First record: 1999
Known offspring: 6
Age class: Adult ±30
Something special: First dolphin to initiate a circle swim with Angie in the March of 1999. Her name is short for bottle opener! She is the mother of Rocha, -Bella, -Blu, Bojangles and her current unnamed babe.
Rocha
First record: 2004
Known offspring: 2
Age Class: Adult ±18
Something special: Rocha is Bo's first offspring and is just as sociable as mum. She is the mother to Ripple and Rona making Bo and grandmother.
Gilly
First record: 2003
Known offspring: 6
Age class: Adult ± 27
Something special: Gilly received her name due to three rake marks that resembled gills. She is the mother of Gulliver, -Gypsy, Gandalf, Gulliver, Gambit and her current unnamed babe.
Gulliver
First record: 2007
Known offspring: 2
Age class: Adult ±15
Something special: Gulliver is the first offspring of Gilly. During the first week of life she was bitten by a shark - but lived to tell the tale. She is the mother of Ginger and has reciently calved again.
Sabby
First record: 2006
Known offspring:: Unknown
Age class: Adult
Something special: She is the mother of SheShy
Sheshy
First record: 2009
Known offspring: 1
Age class: Adult ±15
Something special: Sheshy is super sociable, a first time mum and recently went through a fin change! She is the mother of Shira.
Meet some of the Men
Freya
First record: 2006
Known offspring: 4
Age class: Adult
Something special: Freya is one of our resident females and is seen often in the coastal shallows of the MRP.
Silva
First record: 2009
Known offspring: 1
Age Class: Adult ±17
Something special: Silva not only has a fairly distinctive dorsal fin, but also a large scar that runs along her bottom jaw-line.
