Dolphin Address 34 2003
September 18, 2003
In the past week almost daily dolphins have been seen near Dusty's aquatorium. Veronique told me she had seen that Dusty swam with a group with calves into the direction of the Aran Islands.
She could identify Dusty by the white scar on her dorsal fin that she got from the propeller of a speedboat last August. This is on her right and because this side is turned away from the shore when she is southbound I doubted this observation, all the more because until now she always seemed to avoid other dolphins.
But from Bridie I heard that she twice had seen a group of dolphins and her neighbor, Helen Naughton, an incorrigible romantic, suggested that maybe Dusty is pregnant and therefore seeks contact with other dolphins to assist at birth. Earlier I wrote that Dusty is 'visited' by males and it is almost impossible to visually determine pregnancy in dolphins.
Just before my last swim with her Jane told me that Dusty had not been at Pollenawatch for a few hours and the last time I was in the water she did not show up at all. Only when I got out a group of about 10 dolphins swam by at a 150 meters.
This morning I sqatted on my regular spot at the Fanore meadow. There was quite a breeze, but the splashing water that drew my attention was caused by 3 to 4 dolphins. In my own backyard!!!
Of course I do not take my binoculars or my camera to the toilet and by the time I got back to the car they were gone. I took quite a walk towards 'the house that looks like a cow' (a funny perspective deceptive), but apart from 2 gannets I saw nothing out of the ordinary.
Like on the rocks I feel my moment has come to go into the water, I feel now it is time for me to go home. They say you should leave a party at its peak and this seems an excellent moment. If to take leave is dying a bit, I can have my peace if Helen is right and Dusty will give new life. Today I leave for Dingle. Keith and Juli have begotten a son, Eli. There is always hope, and, of course, dolphins.
Jan Ploeg, Fanore meadow, September 18th 2003
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