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VIDEO: Frolicking dolphins delight Torrevieja beachgoers
The pair of bottlenose dolphins were spotted by sailors off the Alicante coast
In a rare and privileged sighting, two bottlenose dolphins were spotted swimming and playing in the port basin of Torrevieja last Thursday February 29. The lucky video was captured by a group who happened to be sailing in the vicinity at the time.
The dolphins, identified as Tursiops truncatus, were seen jumping and splashing in the water, much to the delight of onlookers who were sailing around the port and strolling along the coast.
According to Juan Antonio Pujol, a doctor in Biology from the University of Murcia and municipal biologist of Torrevieja, better known as 'Crónicas Naturales de Torrevieja', this species is commonly seen in tropical and temperate latitudes and can be found in many closed seas, including the Black Sea, Red Sea, the Golf of California and, of course, the Mediterranean.
¡Delfines dentro de la bahía de Torrevieja! Christian Longo nos envía estas imágenes en las que se pueden ver al menos dos delfines en aguas del interior del puerto de #Torrevieja. pic.twitter.com/j67LlMxTV8
— Proyecto Mastral (@ProyectoMastral) February 29, 2024
Bottlenose dolphins are easily recognisable due to their distinctive beak-like snout and curved dorsal fin. They typically range in length from 1.9 to 3.8 metres, with males being larger than females, and can weigh anywhere from 150 to 650 kilos. Their diet consists mainly of fish, cephalopods and crustaceans, and they are known to form groups of varying sizes depending on their habitat.
In the bays, it's common to find smaller groups of between 2 and 15 individuals, while in the open sea, these groups can number in the hundreds.
Previous Sightings in Torrevieja
This isn't the first time that cetaceans have been spotted in the waters off Torrevieja. In May 2023, 'MeteOrihuela' shared images of around ten bottlenose dolphins swimming close to the entrance to the port. And in July 2022, a group of whales, specifically fin whales, was seen swimming several miles from the coast.
Back in 2021, eight incredibly rare blue dragons (Glaucus atlanticus) were spotted on the coasts of Guardamar, Orihuela and Torrevieja, "the first to be recorded in scientific literature for the Mediterranean after 300 years," according to the biologist.
Image: Proyecto Mastral
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