Over the weekend we have been getting so many reports from visitors that they saw so many dolphins off the Wildwood/Cape May Coast. All weekend long our friends at the Cape May Whale Watcher was out onSaturday and saw 200 plus Bottlenose Dolphins and a Humpback Whale. This begs the question, why are we seeing so many dolphins?
The kind of dolphins we see off our coasts are called bottlenose dolphins which are large, sleek and gray in color. Bottlenose dolphins are migratory. They spend their winters as far south as North Carolina and then return to New Jersey in May and remain here until September or October before traveling south again for the winter. Their ideal temperature if 50 degrees which makes our water a perfect place during the summer time.
The Wildwood/Cape May population of Bottlenose Dolphins return every year not only to feed but to also mate and give birth to their calves. The dolphin’s gestation period is about 12 months, so if a female were to become pregnant she will return the next year, 12 months later to give birth to her calf.
When it comes to travel they like to move in pods of 2-15 or sometimes more. Offshore it is quite common for these dolphins to travel in groups numbering in the hundreds, which is what the Cape May Whale Watcher saw this past weekend.
Next time you are on the beach soaking in the sun, put down the phone and take a look out to the ocean because your might see a dolphin!
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