The Flying Dolphins of Moray Firth

The Moray Firth, a roughly triangular firth (inlet) of the North Sea is an incredibly beautiful area in Northern Scotland . It is also home to over 130 bottlenose dolphins whose amazing acrobatics attracts people from all over the world.

The female dolphins are very social animals and move around in groups of six or seven, usually comprising of moms and calves. During the summer months, they emerge along the shores, entertaining onlookers with spectacular shows. The male dolphins are loners, often swimming alone.

Similar to their whale cousins, bottlenose dolphins are warm-blooded mammals, with an average life of about 25 years, though some live as long as 50 years. They are not very large, growing to about 4 meters in length. The dolphins at Moray Firth are amongst the largest ones in the world.

As you can see from the pictures, these dolphins actively hunt out and catch their prey just like whales. They feed largely on shrimp, squid, eel and fish like salmon and mackerel. Scientists believe that they use a kind of 'sonar' system (detect objects underwater by using sound) to search for their prey and then communicate with each other with whistling sounds.

Since dolphins are almost always at the are at the top of the food chain, they they have very few predators. The only endangement they face is from human activities such as fishing or any developments near or in their natural habitats.

The Moray Firth dolphins are extremely important as they represent one of only two or three groups that exist in the waters around Europe and are in fact the only group found in the North Sea. In order the protect them the area was declared a conservation area in 2005. Recently however, the Government of England has announced plans to look for oil in the area nearby. Conservationists are really worried about the effect it will have on this small population of dolphins and are currently trying to do everything they can to stop the drilling. We sure hope they succeed. What do you think? Be sure to give us your opinion by adding your comments below.

Sources: Highlandhighlights.com, dailymail.co.uk

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