Baby dolphin confirmed for first time this season

KUMAMOTO - A baby dolphin was confirmed for the first time this season among a pod of Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins living off an island in southwestern Japan.

The calf was spotted by the Amakusa fisheries cooperative association's dolphin research office in Amakusa, Kumamoto Prefecture, which officially began its research this year. The peak of births of Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins spans from early May to July. The calves are usually seen from around March, but this season, the first confirmation was on May 18.

The calf was estimated to be 10 days to 2 weeks old at the time it was spotted, and it was about 90 centimeters long -- less than half of the length of adult dolphins, which grow to about 2.5 meters. It could be seen practicing swimming, sometimes jumping above the surface of the sea.

The Amakusa area is a rare location in the world where wild dolphins live within the human habitat. Their lifespan is about 40 years, but it is estimated that only about 10% of young dolphins survive the first year.

Hiromi Takasaki, 44, who is in charge of the research, said: I hope the baby grows up safely.