Koombana Bay’s cutest new resident has dolphin centre celebrating first calf of the season

There’s a new pair of tiny flippers in the waters surrounding Bunbury this month, as the dolphin watching community welcomes the first calf of the season.

Members of Bunbury’s Dolphin Discovery Centre were thrilled to see the tiny cetacean swimming alongside its mother on Tuesday, during a dolphin eco-cruise.

Shortly after, researchers had eyes in the sky above the water, hoping to learn more about Koombana Bay’s newest resident.

DDC’s communications manager Axel Grossmann said the arrival of a new calf was always an exciting time for the community.

He said they suspect the mother is 13-year-old Pinnacle, who would be a firs-time mother, with researchers to keep watch over the coming weeks to confirm.

“Every year we draft a list of dolphins that haven’t had a calf yet but have reached sexual maturity that we might have seen in previous years mating or being herded by males, “ Mr Grossmann said.

“This gives us an indication of who might have a calf next season, and Pinnacle was on that list.

The DDC has welcomed eight to 12 new dolphins to the region each year for the past two years, Mr Grossmann said, with this year’s first arrival an exciting surprise.

“It’s quite late in the season. Normally we would have the first calves born a little bit earlier in the year, so we have all been eagerly awaiting new arrivals,” Mr Grossmann said.

He said with tiny flippers now enjoying the waterways, it was especially important for humans to take care in the bay.

“Especially with jet skis and hydrofoil boats, because a hydrofoil can’t be heard by a dolphin and we have had an accident only two weeks ago where a hydrofoil drove into a dolphin and the blade can injure them quite servery,” Mr Grossmann said.

“No matter what you are using, when you travel through the bay, remember you’ve got neighbours.

“Dolphins live there, so please keep an eye on them, slow down, give them lots of space — 100m for boats and 50m for swimmers. It’s just an important part to remember when we live in a region where there’s a lot of local dolphins.”