Akaroa welcomes Bottlenose dolphins for first time

The entrance to Akaroa Harbour welcomed a large pod of Bottlenose dolphins for the first time in recent memory today. 

Black Cat Cruises skipper Chris Jenkins said that he could not remember there ever being any sightings of Bottlenose dolphins in the area before.

“I’ve been working dolphin swimming on the harbour for 14 years and have never seen Bottlenose dolphins here before; it was awesome,” Jenkins said. “The water was alive with them.  They almost dwarfed our dolphin swimming boat - riding the bow of the boat, leaping and generally going off.”

Jenkins said they really moved fast and were much larger than the regular Hector’s dolphins that inhabit the area. He said there were 70 to 80 Bottlenose dolphins that he thought included mothers and their calves.

“There were all shapes and sizes and we last saw them heading south.”