Swimmer-whale/dolphin in-water encounters (2012-2013)
Field study news on -in-water encounters with free-ranging cetaceans.
Recent videos
All videos are protected by copyright. All rights are reserved including the rights of photomechanical reproduction, the duplication and distribution via special processes (e.g. data processing, data carriers, data networks).
Click ...here... to have a spectacular perspective on Atlantic
spotted dolphins during bowriding (.mov file with 14.3 MB)
(Video: Roland Gockel)
Click ...here... to see a large pilot
whale group (.mov file with 18.2 MB)
(Video: Fabian Ritter)
Click ...here... to see human snorkelers swimming
with a large pilot whale group (.mov file with 10.4 MB)
(Video: Roland Gockel)
Click ...here... to see a group of bottlenose dolphins
approaching a human swimmer (.mov file with 15 MB)
(Video: Fabian Ritter)
Click ...here... to see a group of bottlenose dolphins
interacting with a human swimmer (.mov file with 12.3 MB)
(Video: Roland Gockel)
Click ...here... to see a human swimmer approaching
a pilot whale underwater (.mov file with 9.9 MB)
(Video: Roland Gockel)
Click ...here... to see two pilot whales encircling
two human swimmers (.mov file with 5 MB)
Click ...here... to see Atlantic spotted dolphins
during bowriding (.mov file with 9.4 MB)
(Underwater video: Roland Gockel)
About
Field study news
Open water encounters of human swimmers with wild cetaceans have increased worldwide. Though there is a vast popular belief that cetaceans are friendly and peaceful animals, in the past free-ranging cetaceans were reported to aggressively interact with human swimmers and even injure or kill them. From the environmental management perspective, these encounters have to be investigated in order to reduce the likelihood of potentially dangerous aggressive interactions. Behaviors being self-initiated by cetaceans during encounters and addressed towards humans still have received little study and their structure and function mostly remain unclear. An own study recently reviewed the scientific literature describing 53 different behaviors from ten odontocete and one mysticeti species (...here...). There is still a knowledge gap on species-specific behaviors which are addressed towards human swimmers. Though e.g. interactive behaviors of unhabituated short-finned pilot whales seem to be solely affiliative (...here...), other species might be less suitable for in-water encounters with human swimmers. pilot-whales.org currently participates in a field study examining in-water encounters with human swimmers on a multi-species level in the waters south off La Gomera.
Research is authorized by the Ministerio de Agricultura, Alimentación y Medio Ambiente, Madrid, Spain. Commercial or private swim encounters with wild cetaceans in Canary Island waters are prohibited by law.