On Friday March 10 2006 we began to receive information about the presence of two dolphins in the Abra de Bilbao. The animals were going up the river towards the old blast furnaces.

The first reports of our technicians have confirmed that they were bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus), although only one located they. The scenarios then tried to relate their presence with a possible disorientation of the animals, some of them have physical problems or who had entered a temporary shelter following a strong school of fish.

Not The first time you see dolphins in the estuary and in July of 2002, a group of bottlenose dolphins were 25-30 up in the steel Compacta de Bizkaia then comes down and stay 3 days in the Open. On that occasion it was found that the birth of at least one offspring. We decided to mount a tracking device to see how the new creature born in the estuary of Bilbao. Thanks

andalusia tracking device mounted on AMBAR could see that a group of dolphins predominantly used the area between the gas stations and gasoline Astrabudua Erandio (just before the bridge Rontegi).

This animal had a considerable size to be an adult and he was seen jumping and hunting in the area, so for now, its conduct could be considered normal and does not indicate any serious physical problem. The fact that the animal was in an area as small as 5 days to bring in the same area, and that was just added to the descriptions of similar behavior in other parts of the world, we suggested the possibility that these were a dolphin dolphin or resident ambassador.

Dolphins ambassadors resident or are scarce in the world, there are only described in the order of a hundred of them. The most recent and close deals with a bottlenose dolphin in Gipuzkoa, (which is called Pakito), who lived 7 years in the bay of Donostia and 1 year in the mouth of the estuary Pasaia, where he finally died for problems breathing. The name of the dolphin ambassadors come from the romantic idea that these are the representatives of the dolphins to humans, and although not yet clear what causes that make an animal isolates, are believed to be due to the unsuitability of these to his flock, being segregated in the same over time.

The most famous case is that of a male bottlenose dolphin named Fungi resident in Ireland for 20 years, interacting with humans.

In this case, it was impossible to determine what would be its performance in the coming days or months, because, let's not forget, these are wild animals. Thanks

andalusia device mounted in recent weeks by AMBAR, confirming the presence of this single animal, the dorsal fin of the photo identifies the individual as a fingerprint. The animal had been seen all along the river, there are even witnesses who claimed to have seen the height of Zubizuri in the heart of Bilbao. Since the last time he was seen in the area Rontegi, the bottlenose dolphin was moved to more open areas between Santurtzi and Arrigunaga.

During the day March 21 several surfers Arrigunaga them confirmed that the animal was around and told us that breathing with difficulty.

Finally, on March 22 at 11:00 am there was a sad ending.
 

Source: Amber