Grandmother Dolphin Returns With Newborn Calf
Marine biologists off the coast of Tel Aviv got a rare and heartwarming surprise during a routine survey this week: three generations of bottlenose dolphins swimming side by side. The University of Haifa announced Wednesday that the trio—a grandmother, her daughter, and a newborn calf—was spotted and photographed in the Mediterranean Sea, offering a rare glimpse into the social structure of Israel’s local dolphin population.
The sighting is part of a long-term research initiative by the university’s Mediterranean Sea Research Center, in collaboration with the marine conservation group Delphis. It marks the first time in a quarter-century of observation that scientists have documented a grandmother-mother-calf combination in Israeli waters.
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All three dolphins belong to the Tursiops truncatus species, better known as the common bottlenose dolphin. While this species is frequently seen along Israel’s shoreline, with an estimated population of around 360 individuals, encounters like this are exceedingly rare.
The matriarch of the pod is no stranger to the researchers; she’s been on their radar since at least 2018, when she was first recorded with a calf. She gave birth again in 2021, making this latest calf a third-generation addition to the local family tree.
Though not endangered, bottlenose dolphins in the Eastern Mediterranean face pressure from shipping, fishing, and pollution. Documenting multi-generational family groups helps researchers track reproductive health and social behavior, vital data for long-term conservation efforts.
It’s not every day you catch a grandmother teaching her grandbaby how to surf a wave.
