DOLPHINS GO WEST FOR HOLS.Byline: MIRROR REPORTER IRELAND has become a top holiday destination for UK dolphins, researchers have found. They claimed some have travelled a record-breaking distance from Scotland's east coast to the southern tip of Ireland and round the coast to Galway. Seven bottlenose dolphins identified in the Moray Firth Moray Firth Inlet of the North Sea, northeastern Scotland. It extends inland for 39 mi (63 km) and is 16 mi (29 km) wide at its widest point. Its inner reaches are divided by a peninsula, the Black Isle, into two smaller inlets, Cromarty Firth and the Firth of Inverness; the were tracked to islands on the west coast of Scotland and three of those to Cork and Galway. The distance of more than 1,300kms is a new point-to-point record for the species. Photos of individual dolphins' dorsal dorsal /dor·sal/ (dor´s'l) 1. pertaining to the back or to any dorsum. 2. denoting a position more toward the back surface than some other object of reference; a synonym of posterior fins enabled the scientists to identify which animals had been at the two Scottish sites and establish that three had made the journey. Teams of Earthwatch volunteers have been helping the scientists monitor the dolphins in the Moray Firth for years. Earthwatch scientist Kevin Robinson said: "A total of six distinctively marked animals were positively identified between the two study sites. "At least three of these were also confirmed off the coasts of Cork and Galway." Scientists from Earthwatch said the findings would have a profound impact on how effective conservation measures for the dolphins are designed. CAPTION(S): RECORD BREAKER Bottlenose dolphin bottlenose dolphin or bottle-nosed dolphin Widely recognized species (Tursiops truncatus) of mammal belonging to the dolphin family, found worldwide in warm and temperate seas. Bottlenose dolphins reach an average length of 8–10 ft (2. |
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