Risso’s Dolphin Watch & Marine Conservation Talk – POSTPONED

THIS EVENT HAS BEEN POSTPONED. MORE INFORMATION FORTHCOMING.

Join the Love Tech team and the Manx Whale and Dolphin Watch for our spring event – Risso’s Dolphin Watching & Marine Conservation Talk with the Manx Whale and Dolphin Watch on Marine Drive in Douglas.

This event will be FREE of CHARGE. However, due to restricted numbers, we will require those attending to acquire a ticket from Eventbrite. Click here to reserve a ticket.

There will be no food or drinks available on site, so please bring refreshments. Binoculars will be provided by MWDW, but if you have some you would like to bring, please feel free.

This event is for children aged 10 and up. For anyone younger than 12, please bring an adult chaperone.

If the weather doesn’t permit this outdoors activity, it will be rescheduled for Sunday, 28 March. If the weather is also poor that day, we will find another date.

Note that while this is a popular time of year for sighting them, dolphins are not guaranteed as they travel widely.

More about the Risso’s Dolphin, from our friends at Manx Whale and Dolphin Watch…

The Risso’s dolphin can be distinguishable at the surface by the large dorsal fin on the centre of the back. They generally have a rather slow travelling pace, but break out into bursts of highly active behaviour during or after foraging. This behaviour varies widely and can include breaching, head slapping, spy hopping, head and tail standing, swimming upside down and logging.

Risso’s dolphins are the most commonly seen dolphin species in summer months despite our distinctly shallow waters. They are often observed extremely close inshore in areas such as Port St Mary, Marine Drive and Langness. These coastal areas have water depths of just 22m-35m, so quite different from their typical habitat. They are often seen around the Calf of Man, either passing through The Sound or around the back near the Chicken Rock. Young calves are seen every year during the spring and summer.

The reason for such abundance in our shallower waters is not yet known, but Manx waters are clearly a critical habitat for this species.