Livestream from the Cove Taiji-Japan as a small pod of Risso's Dolphis were destroyed

Taiji Japan, Nov. 27, 2023:
A pod of 13 Risso’s dolphins was driven into the Cove after a long, hard battle. Divers grabbed dolphins and wrestled them over to skiffs where nets were used to hold the dolphins against the side of the boats as they were carried under the tarps. Some dolphins became entangled in the net as they tried desperately to escape. Divers untangled them and brought them to the skiffs. Although possibly a nursery pod as 4 dolphins were wrestled into slings and dumped at sea, this did not appear to be a nursery pod. There were no small calves and the swimming behavior in the Cove did not indicate a mother-juvenile bond. Risso’s dolphins often live in stratified pods, grouped by age and sex. Young Risso’s leave their mother’s pod 1-2 years before becoming sexually mature, still growing. Based on their coloration, all pod members were young as they were still dark grey with little scarring. It is possible the 4 dumped dolphins had recently left their mothers and joined this pod. This would explain the small body size. Possibly, the hunters decided to dump the young dolphins in hopes of finding larger bodies dolphins later in the season as Risso’s can reach 13 ft/nearly 4 m in length. In the end, 9 Risso’s were slaughtered. Their lifeless bodies dragged to the butcher house by flukes once used to effortlessly propel them through the water. Their young lives cut short. 4 were dumped at sea. Young and afraid, we hope they find the strength to survive.

Livestream Video by Ric O'Barry's Dolphin Project
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