Baby dolphin spotted with pod off Yorkshire coast

 

 

A calf was spotted among a pod of about 13 dolphins

A pod of 40 bottlenose dolphins spotted off the Yorkshire coast is one of the biggest seen in the past 12 months, according to an expert.

The dolphins were reported off Filey, North Yorkshire, on Saturday. On the same day another group of about 13 was seen off the coast of Flamborough, East Yorkshire, just before 11:30 BST.

 

Robin Petch, of the Sea Watch Foundation, said a new-born calf was among the latter group and had been identified by foetal folds "showing it is no more than a few weeks old".

The creatures, which appear to have migrated from the Moray Firth in Scotland, were either hunting for food or had gathered for mating, Mr Petch added.

The new-born calf (far right) has been identified as "no more than a few weeks old"

"It's just so exciting when they do get together like that," said Mr Petch.

"You'll see them kind of rolling together, there's a lot ofi splashing and activity and kind of curling and twisting and tail slapping in the air."

 

The foundation – a marine environmental charity – is running its annual National Whale and Dolphin Watch survey to record a "snapshot" of cetacean movements around the UK coast.

Mr Petch said that while Cardigan Bay in Wales remained the best location to see an increasing number of cetaceans, the coastlines of Yorkshire and Northumberland were now among the "top places" for sightings.