THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, June 19, 1996 TAG: 9606190430
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B7 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY SCOTT HARPER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: 78 lines
Tired, hungry and with newborn babies in tow, hundreds of bottlenose dolphins migrating up the Atlantic coast are arriving off Virginia's coast for their annual summer respite.
And while they may not look like ordinary tourists - no overstuffed suitcases, no out-of-state license plates, no traveler's checks - the dolphins certainly act like typical resort visitors.
``They seem to stay for a relatively short time, three to four weeks on average - to rest, to feed and pretty much enjoy themselves before moving on,'' said Susan Barco, a dolphin researcher at the Virginia Marine Science Museum, which this week launched its dolphin-watching boat tours.
During a tour Tuesday morning through calm seas, about 50 dolphins were seen leaping, swimming, diving, wrestling and flirting with a boat full of giddy passengers, most of whom snapped pictures and oohed and ahhed at the sight of fins breaking the green ocean surface.
``Doggie! Doggie!'' yelped one toddler, pointing excitedly. His mother chuckled. ``No no, honey,'' she said, ``that's a dolphin, like Flipper.''
Most of the dolphins viewed Tuesday were circulating in shallow waters off Fort Story, at the far north end of Virginia Beach. There, they were feeding and playing in small groups, as they usually do, some as close as 10 feet from shore.
When fully mature, dolphins will reach about 10 feet in length and weigh more than 700 pounds. The ones Tuesday were mostly juveniles, although a few babies, about the size of a large loaf of French bread, could be seen laboring to keep up with their adult guardians.
Bottlenose dolphins, while powerful swimmers with few predators, are considered a depleted species. Their population still is recovering from a disastrous die-off in 1987 and '88, when hundreds washed up sick or dead on beaches from the Gulf of Mexico to New Jersey.
Scientists are not sure why it happened. The latest theory speculates that a natural toxin, in conjunction with a distemper-like disease, may be to blame.
In recent weeks, a mounting number of dolphins have been found stranded along the Atlantic coast, Barco said. Since late May, 15 dolphin carcasses have been recovered from Virginia beaches. By contrast, only 10 were discovered all of last year, she added.
``A lot of people are starting to get concerned,'' Barco said.
Soon after the big die-off in 1988, the museum began its dolphin tours. Many of the proceeds support research projects and a statewide rescue program.
As part of their work, museum staffers photograph dolphins in Virginia waters and try to determine if they return in later years. Barco said many dolphins do come back to Virginia, and several have been given names.
Mother dolphins, some of which give birth off Virginia, also are believed to name their young, Barco said. Names come in the form of special clicking noises made by the mother soon after her baby, or neonate, is born. Some clicks are louder, others shorter.
The tours are designed with a heavy emphasis on public education. Volunteers stroll the decks and give passengers facts about the dolphins.
Paul Stephenson, a 4-year-old from North Carolina, wanted to know how dolphins eat. He beamed with fascination when told that they grab small fish with their teeth and swallow the fish whole, head-first.
Lucy Haizlip, visiting with her cousin, Amanda Chirafis, from Texas, was intrigued by their attraction to humans.
``It was funny how they'd jump up and get attention and come right by the boat,'' said Haizlip, 15.
Added Chirafis: ``Yeah, they're not afraid of us. I like that the best.'' ILLUSTRATION: Graphic
THE TRIPS
What: Dolphin-watching boat trips, sponsored by Virginia Marine
Science Museum.
When: June 17 through Sept. 1.
Schedule: Mondays to Fridays, 9 to 11 a.m and 4:30 to 6:30 p.m.;
Saturdays and Sundays, 4:30 to 6:30 p.m.
Cost: $12 for adults, $10 for children (11 and under), babies are
free.
How to sign up: Call 437-BOAT to make reservations (reservations
are requested but not required.) Boat leaves from and returns to
Rudee Inlet, Virginia Beach. by CNB