Bottlenose dolphins found living off English coast in ‘incredibly exciting’ discovery
Yet another reason why Cornwall is such a fab place!
England’s only resident population of bottlenose dolphins has been discovered by researchers.
Experts analysed thousands of sightings and photographs from the South-west of England between 2007 and 2016.
They identified 98 individual bottlenose dolphins and were able to define a distinct group of 28 that were resident throughout the year.
These dolphins were present in shallow coastal waters mainly in Cornwall – particularly St Ives Bay and Mount’s Bay – but also in Devon and Dorset.
Ruth Williams, marine conservation manager at the Cornwall Wildlife Trust, described the discovery as “incredibly exciting”.
“Further work is needed but this is a huge step forward and I am proud of what our partnership between Cornwall Wildlife Trust, scientists and boat operators has achieved,” she said.