Dolphin Identification

The day started with a quick breakfast and then myself and 2 other members of the team stayed back at the house and were taught how to use photographs to identify dolphins. The main identifying feature of a dolphin is the shape and notches in the dorsal fin. We looked at hundreds of photos and classified them as excellent, good, fair, poor, or bad. We also made sketches of the fins and tried to find photos that matched. This was an enjoyable task and after a while you could start to identify the dolphins. It was so cool when you would bring up a photo and immediately be able to say "that's dolphin B" After a lot of supporting data that identifies a particular dolphin, the dolphin is given a name. Some of the names that have been given are Wild Woman, Hook, Two Tricks, Lizard, and Daisy. If a new dolphin is identified during this expedition, we will get to help name it!