It’s a once in a life time opportunity, but members for the Mandurah Dolphin Rescue Group and a Mandurah Cruises crew have been lucky enough to captured the birth of a dolphin in the wild.
A rare occurrence, dolphin experts claim the moment has never been captured before in Australia and only once before world-wide.
April 11, started out like any other in the Peel-Harvey Estuary for a Mandurah Cruises crew.
After a full morning of dolphin spotting, skipper Rhys Ball thought he had seen plenty of action on the water.
At 1.50pm, during an afternoon cruise he noticed a well known dolphin called Squarecut swimming by herself.
Heavily pregnant, various members of the Mandurah Dolphin Rescue Group and Mandurah Cruises were expecting her to give birth soon.
Snagging in the shallows, Mr Ball informed other crew members and shortly after rescue group volunteer Robyn Bickell arrived at the location and filmed the birth.
“It was quite surreal. I still think I’m in shock about it,” Ms Bickell said.
“I’ve watched dolphins for a long time. I was with another lady that runs the rescue group and we just couldn’t believe we were watching it.
“It was truly amazing to see.
“We were sort of monitoring her for a while, so it didn’t happen straight away and when it did, it was like a big fish just popped out.
“This little tiny dolphin was trying to learn how to swim. So it took a bit of time before it was actually able to swim and meet up with its mum.”
The labour was about an hour and a half long.
Mandurah Cruises education officer Natalie Goddard said it was a very exciting time for anyone interested in marine life in the Peel region.
She also reminded people to be cautious when around dolphins in the waterways.
“It’s important if you see the calves or any dolphins when out boating, to slow down and give them plenty of space by observing them from a distance,” she said.
It is illegal to feed wild dolphins and large fines can apply to people who do so.
For more information visit the Mandurah Cruises website.
